


Sugar, We're Going Down

by sunsetmog



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Age Play, Alternate Universe, Barebacking, Chastity Device, Collars, Comeplay, Consensual Kink, Consensual Somnophilia, Daddy Kink, Edging, Feminization, Getting Together, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Masturbation, Nightmares, Non-Famous Louis, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rimming, Scars, Shaving, Size Difference, Spanking, Submission, Sugar Daddy, Virginity Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-07 17:57:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 131,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13440159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetmog/pseuds/sunsetmog
Summary: At 37, Nick has everything he could possibly want in life: huge success in business, a Bachelor of the Year award hanging in his toilet, piles of money, and a rather odd little habit of visiting a cafe with terrible service on his way into the office every morning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, back in early 2014, a lovely friend and I started writing this story in email to each other. It got to be 123k before we sort of stumbled out of the habit of writing it, and then my friend gradually fell out of the fandom. Since then, it's been sitting on my hard drive, and after discussion with my lovely anonymous friend, I'm finally posting it on behalf of the two of us now. 
> 
> Some important notes: 
> 
> \- This is very self-indulgent, in that we didn't write it with an intention of posting it, but just writing what we wanted to write at the time.  
> \- Nick is 37 and Louis is 19.  
> \- Louis has been hurt (not sexually) in the past, but this is off screen. [Drop me an ask on Tumblr](http://magicalrocketships.tumblr.com/ask) if you want to ask me any questions or need any more details. He has got scars and whilst I've tagged PTSD, I think this may be a tiny bit over-cautious. 
> 
> Chapter one beta by **Ashley**. Thanks, love.  <3 Thanks to Ana and pillarboxred for reading it through for me as well. 
> 
> The rest of the story is very almost complete and I'll be posting it over the next week/couple of weeks. Tags belong to the whole story but are non-exhaustive and I'll add to them as we go on.

The cafe is out of Nick's way, doesn't serve any of the normal kind of food that Nick likes, and visiting it tends to make him late for work. There's no real justification for Nick to go there almost every day, except—

"Hiya," Louis says, moseying on over too soon after Nick's sat down to be casual. He hands Nick a menu, which Nick doesn't need because he's got it memorised, and because whatever he orders Louis fucks around with anyway. "You weren't here yesterday."

Louis sounds a bit petulant. Nick tries not to grin too obviously, always keen on being noticed and missed when he's gone. "Board of Director's meeting," he says. "Lasted all bloody day. Nearly chucked myself out of the window just to escape the monotony."

"Time better spent getting your hair seen to," says Louis, reaching out and fingering a few strands of Nick's carefully sculpted hair. Louis's hair is scruffy and sticks up. It's terribly charming. "Grey's starting to show."

"Oi," Nick says, swiping Louis's hand away. "I am not going grey, you monkey." He might be going grey, but if he is, it is precisely nothing a little bit of hair dye can't help. Being 37 has brought with it a number of downsides, the least of which might be needing his temples touched up. However, he didn't win Bachelor of the Year when he was 36, did he? No. "Anyway, did you miss me?"

"Like chicken pox," Louis says. He drops down onto the seat opposite Nick, fingertips tapping the laminated menu. His fingernails are bitten down to the quick. This place is not the kind of place anyone would expect Nick to spend any time. The menu is laminated, for a start. Nick tends to go to the kinds of places where the wine list doesn't come with prices. "You decided what you want yet?"

There are people at the counter waiting to be served, a few too many for Louis's co-worker Zayn to deal with by himself without rushing, but Nick watches Louis ignore them. "There are customers, love," Nick says, indicating the queue with the crook of his finger. He has terrified junior associates with that finger, but Louis seems unmoved. 

"They'll wait," Louis says. "Are you just going to make me guess what you want, or are you going to give me some kind of indication?"

Nick has ordered one of three things from the menu every single day he's come in here, but Louis pretends never to remember. He glances at the menu anyway. _Full Engiish_ is spelt wrong. It has an _i_ instead of an _l_. "Did you really notice I wasn't in yesterday?"

Louis folds his arms and leans over the table. "Nope," he says, and he grins that wide, bright smile that does oddly enticing things to Nick's insides. "Do you fancy porridge for a change? I made it."

Nick hates porridge. "Fine," he says, and hopes he makes it sound long-suffering. Honestly, he is _feared_ in his organisation. Five seconds with Louis and he's ordering bloody porridge. 

Louis's smile goes sweet and pleased, and he hops up from the table without another word. Nick rolls his eyes at himself, propping his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand to hide the smile he can't help but make. He has a truly awful cup of tea in front of him that he sips at, dutifully not reaching for the sugar. 

Louis strolls out of the kitchen five minutes later with a steaming bowl on a tray and a strangely earnest, somewhat shy expression on his face. "Here," he says, putting it in front of Nick. "Tell me what you think."

Nick stares down at the bowl. It's oddly lumpy, for porridge. He dips his spoon into it warily and something black floats up to the surface. He looks up at Louis, whose eyebrows are drawn together and who honestly seems a bit nervous. Feeling inexplicably guilty, Nick takes a bite.

The black thing turns out to be an olive, and along with too much honey, there's also what he thinks might be al dente pasta. He does his best not to gag, but it's nearly impossible. "Oh my god," he says, without really meaning too. He quickly turns abject revulsion into a twisted smile. "It's really good!"

"You think so?" Louis asks eagerly. Nick's eyes narrow into a suspicious glare and Louis too-casually covers his own mouth with his notepad. It doesn't hide his evil laugh fast enough.

"You little _brat_ ," says Nick. He has enough dignity to swallow, instead of spitting his mouthful out like he'd prefer to, but he drinks rather more tea on his next go than he intends to get the taste out of his mouth. "Impertinent little fuckweasel."

Louis cackles delightedly. "I wanted to see if you'd try it. You've been coming here for weeks now. Don't you know you can't trust me by now?"

Nick shakes his head, grumbling. "I ought to take you over my knee."

There is, just for a moment, a flash of something bright in Louis's eyes, but it's gone too soon for Nick to catch it. It doesn't stop him thinking, _aha!_ and it takes all his energy just to school his expression into something that doesn't scream, _let's run away and do that right the fuck now_. He has a day full of meetings, for a start. He fucking hates meetings. It's a lot of telling people that they should trust him because he's brilliant—which he's good at—and then waiting an hour for them to catch up and agree. They always agree. He really is quite fantastic. 

"Yeah, yeah," Louis says, and there's a faint pinkish tinge to his cheeks that Nick is stealing and filing away for future reference. "I'd like to see you try."

"Maybe after you've brought me some real breakfast," Nick says, pushing the porridge to one side. He raises an eyebrow. "Any chance of something edible this time around?"

Louis drops down onto the seat opposite him again. "I'm in charge of the kitchen," he says. "Harry's got a dentist appointment. Don't ask me for anything that actually requires cooking. I could do you a bagel and cream cheese if you want fancied it." He makes a face. "Or cornflakes. How do you fancy cornflakes?"

There are a lot of people here not actually eating anything, and Nick suspects that if Louis really _is_ in charge of the kitchen, they're going to end up wishing they'd ordered cornflakes too. "Do you actually serve cornflakes?" Nick asks. "Like, for real, and not just inside that head of yours?"

"I'm thinking of adding them to the menu," Louis says airily. He gets to his feet again. "One bowl of cornflakes, coming right up."

Nick watches him leave, not bothering to hide the fact he's looking at Louis's arse as he goes. Fucking cornflakes, honestly. 

Louis looks back over his shoulder at him when he gets to the kitchen door, and honest-to-god, he winks. 

Zayn pulls Louis aside to give him a stern talking to not long after Louis delivers Nick's cornflakes with a flourish. Nick lingers as much as he can, but after Zayn, Louis's incredibly busy with a pair of very demanding old men at the table in the corner, and Nick really has to be getting on. He puts enough money on the table to cover his meal and a ridiculous tip, and, on a scrap of paper found in the back of his wallet, he jots out his full name and phone number. _In case you change your mind about that spanking_.

It's been weeks of flirting. It's time to take it up a gear. 

His car is waiting for him outside, and he slides into the back seat, and is immediately plied with calls and emails on his business phone as soon as he turns it off airline mode. One of his divisional heads of marketing is having a fit about the invitation process for a huge client event taking place next month, and as it's quite unlike her to lose her head over what is mostly a glorified networking party, he takes the time to send her a proper email, and not just one signing off on whatever she's telling him. By the time he's finished, he's at his office.

"Have a good day, sir," says his driver.

"Ta, Marcus, thanks for the lift!" Nick answers. He greets the doorman at his building and the officers at the security desk, swipes his keycard through the scanner and steps into the lift where he finally checks his personal phone. 

He has a text from a number he doesn't know. _Awfully forward of you_ , it says. He grins.

 _Let me take you to dinner tomorrow night._ Nick types back. Tomorrow is Friday.

Louis responds with the carton of chips emoji. 

Nick rolls his eyes. _I can do better than that._

Louis responds with the aubergine emoji, which makes Nick laugh, and then: _I have to work until 7.30 tomorrow. Group project meeting._

Group project meeting? Nick frowns, curious. _Pick you up at 8:30 then._

The lift opens at the thirty-second floor and Nick steps out. Ian is at the reception desk, already on the phone, looking bored. "I'm sorry, he's in meetings all day, can I take a message?"

Nick grins at him and Ian rolls his eyes, handing over a stack of missives and a contracts folder. Nick takes them both and disappears into his office. 

His mobile vibrates with Louis's address just as he closes the door.

~*~

Nick stays at work until 7:45 on Friday, which gives him precisely enough time to shut down his computer, grab his laptop, his tablet, and the pile of papers he's going to have to look at at some point before Monday, and go downstairs to where his driver's idling outside the front of the building. It's Tim, this time, and Tim always indulges him by putting on Radio 1 through the speakers so that Nick can glory in his youth whilst surrounding himself with papers in the back of the car. 

There's a text from Louis on his phone. _Where are you taking me?_ it says, followed by an emoji of someone painting their nails. 

Nick grins. _Feel free to wear nail varnish,_ he texts back, _I'll see you at 8.30_. He drops his phone onto the seat next to him, and doesn't bother checking it again. 

He manages to highlight five pages of the top report in his pile before he gets to his house, and then he's saying ta-ra to Tim, and bounding up the steps to his Hampstead house — merely _house_ doesn't really seem to cut it, really, not when _grounds_ come into play, but whatever — where there's just enough time to hop into the shower and out again, pet Puppy a lot, and dart out of the door again, jogging down the steps with his car keys in hand. He takes the Porsche, because it's black and shiny and he's out to impress. It's a little 911 with cream leather seats and hopefully enough pizazz to shut Louis up for five seconds. 

It doesn't, because Louis lives in a grotty flat in South London, above a Chinese takeaway that Nick wouldn't eat from if someone paid him, and Nick should have expected this, but Louis isn't ready. He's not even slightly ready, in fact, so Nick has to park the Porsche next to a 24 hour Turkish shop and go up a fire escape round the back of the shops to knock on Louis's front door. 

The guy who answers the door is broad shouldered, with dark brown hair that's artfully swept back, big brown eyes, and a few days' worth of stubble.

"Hiya," says Nick, offering a hand. He's got a sweet smile and a nice handshake.

"Hullo. Nick, right? I'm Liam. Lou's not ready yet." He steps aside to let Nick in, and takes him through to the living room. The flat is unbearably small and cluttered, mismatched furniture and mess everywhere. It's reminiscent of Nick's own uni days, but it feels almost suffocating now.

"I should probably be shocked," he says. "Are you his flatmate?"

"No, no, I'm going out with his flatmate. You know Harry? He works in the kitchen at the cafe."

Nick grins. "Ah! You're _that_ Liam."

"You've heard of me?" Liam looks a bit shy and a bit pleased. He's really quite darling.

"Harry talks a lot," says Nick.

"Almost as much as Louis," Liam agrees, grinning. "Harry's at the supermarket. We're having a night in."

"I'll be sure to keep Louis out as late as possible," Nick promises. It's a joke, and Liam laughs, but it's a bit belated and he eyes Nick up and down quite obviously, untrusting. Nick lifts an eyebrow and is about to say _something_ to break the sudden tension, when Louis ducks in from the hall, shirtless with his hair wet and wearing a pair of jeans so tight they look painted on. He's so lovely, slight and small compared to Liam, little nipples and a dusting of light chest hair and just the slightest, sweetest belly. Nick's been infatuated for weeks, but being this strangely endeared at this point is just a bit silly.

"Almost done," Louis promises, pulling on a polyester shirt, blue with small white polka dots. Nick watches him button it up with clumsy fingers. He'd like to dress Louis up, quite honestly. He'd look fantastic in silk. He should let Henry have a go at him. "Don't go anywhere," Louis tells him, running off again.

"Thirty seconds and I'm going without you," Nick calls after him, trying, for Liam's sake, not to stare too much at Louis's bum as he darts back into one of the rooms off the tiny, cluttered hall. 

"You never would," Louis calls back, and Nick makes a face. It would be easy to let Louis wrap him around his little finger. 

"Twenty seconds," Nick says. He grins at Liam, who's looking at him like he's trying to work out what's going on. What's going on is that Louis is little and cheeky and terrible and brilliant, and Nick wants to wine him and dine him and show him the good life. 

"I'm making myself beautiful," Louis yells. "You can't put a time limit on beauty."

"I can," Nick says. He tosses his car keys from one hand to the other. "Can you drive, by the way? I've got comprehensive insurance, and the Porsche is parked outside."

Louis skids into the hall and narrowly avoids running into the wall. "You're fucking joking," he says. "You've got a Porsche?"

It occurs to Nick, belatedly, that Louis might not actually be aware just how fucking brilliant Nick is, and how much money he actually earns.

"We have so much to learn about one another, darling," says Nick, and Louis rolls his eyes and disappears into another room again. Nick's smiling helplessly, and doesn't realise it until he turns his attention to Liam, who's watching with his eyebrows furrowed.

"All right?" Nick asks.

"You left a Porsche parked outside on this road?" Liam says.

It's a fair point. Nick opens the door and both he and Liam step onto the fire escape to look out over the road. His car is still there.

"Oh God," Liam breathes. "That's gorgeous. I can't believe you're going to let Louis inside it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Louis asks from inside. Liam and Nick turn around together. Louis's fully dressed, shirt tucked in and white braces clipped on, a scarf wrapped haphazardly around his neck. He shrugs into a blazer with three-quarter sleeves and swipes his fringe across his forehead.

"It means you're a dreadful slob," says Liam. "You look great, Lou."

Louis blows a raspberry at him and Liam rolls his eyes, checking his phone. Louis pockets his keys and his own phone and presses a wet kiss to Liam's cheek, laughing when Liam shoves him away. 

"Get out of here, tosser," Liam says. And then, very kindly, "It was nice to meet you, Nick."

"You too, Liam."

Once it's just the two of them outside, crowded close together on the step, Nick looks down and Louis looks up, challenging expression on his face. "You going to let me drive then?" Louis says, getting up onto his toes to peer at Nick's Porsche "Just what do you do, anyway? Aren't you like, an undertaker or something?"

"Yes," Nick says. "I'm an undertaker." He can't decide whether he's bothered or not that Louis doesn't seem to realise who he is. He was GQ's Businessman of the Year last year, and shortlisted for Best Dressed Male. He was also top five on the Pink List last year. He doesn't mind coming behind Claire Balding, but Peter Tatchell was once a knob to him at a party, and that means war. 

"Dead people pay well," Louis says. 

"They do," Nick agrees. "Do you want to drive?"

"Do I ever," Louis says, and he makes a grab for the keys, jogging down the fire escape and hopping past a parked car in the alleyway so he can get out to the road. "God, is this really yours?"

"Really mine," Nick says, sliding his hands into his pockets as Louis tries to figure out how to get into the car. "There's a Ferrari at home, too. And a Range Rover."

"Course there is," Louis says. "Do you keep the Lamborghini for special occasions?"

"I absolutely do," Nick says. "Here, let me." He makes a grab for the keys, and does the little magic thing to make the doors unlock.

Louis looks suspicious. "What the fuck?"

"Paid extra for fingerprint access only," Nick says. He winks. "Come on, I booked us a table."

"I'm beginning to think you're magic," Louis says, clambering into the car. 

Nick goes out into the road to let himself in the passenger side. He's never actually sat here before. He's usually quite protective of his belongings, and his Porsche in particular. 

"You're taking me to Hogwarts, aren't you?" Louis makes a face.

Nick laughs, and leans over to brush the back of his hand over Louis's knee. "I'm taking you for the ride of your life, baby."

He's gratified that Louis snorts a laugh. He pushes Nick's hand away, but not before hooking his finger over Nick's, just for a second. 

_Okay_ , Nick thinks, and grins. 

Nick is self-aware enough to know that he is, at best, an all right driver. He likes to go too fast and he likes to show off and he owns cars that lend well to it, but he's not as reckless as he once was. As he was when he was a uni student, for example. Louis drives like a hyena on acid. He's having the time of his life, clearly, face lit up with delight, but he's weaving in and out of traffic like a brat and has clearly never driven something with this much power behind it, because he's enjoying it far too much to be familiar with it.

"This is fucking sick!" Louis shouts over the sound of the engine, shifting gears expertly enough that Nick feels a certain amount of pride that he has no business feeling. Nick doesn't quite have a death grip on his door handle, but he does keep reaching for a brake pedal that isn't actually there.

"Glad you're enjoying," Nick drawls, when they've slowed at a traffic light. "Turn left here."

He directs Louis to the restaurant and to a parking spot down the road, outside a Caffè Nero. When they're parked, Nick gets out and walks around the car to open Louis's door for him. Louis looks up at him balefully. "I can open my own door," he says.

"You're struggling with the seatbelt, love," Nick offers, amused. He leans in to help Louis, because the buckle has got caught between the seat and the console. Louis's hand is in the way, so Nick covers it with his own and guides his fingers to the button to release the catch. Louis rolls his eyes, muttering, colour high in his cheeks. He pulls his hand away at once and Nick steps back to let him step out.

"You're awfully opposed to hand holding."

Louis affects a haughty look. "Shouldn't I be? I don't even know what you do for a living, Nicholas. Why should I let you touch me at all, hmm?"

"Fair enough," Nick says. Louis is a bit obnoxious. Nick really shouldn't find it charming.

"You don't know anything about me either," Louis says. When they get to the corner, he looks back towards the car with an overly fond look. If nothing else, he's already in love with Nick's Porsche.

"That's what dating is for, love."

"I could be a serial murderer. Or a pirate. I could have twelve children."

Nick lifts an eyebrow, gesturing for Louis to precede him into the restaurant. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen," Louis says. Christ, Nick's going to hell. Louis gives him another look like he's just daring Nick to do something, and Nick has no idea what. "Why? Are you doubting my ability to father children? I can father children."

They're garnering all sorts of attention. Nick nods solemnly. "I'm sure you can."

"My penis is in spectacular condition, actually," Louis tells him, only a little bit sanctimoniously. "Strong swimmers. Probably."

"Your table, sirs."

Louis has the grace to look embarrassed. Nick doesn't. He smirks at the maître d'. "Thank you," he says. Then, to Louis, he says, "After you, pet."

"This place looks well posh," Louis says, under his breath.

"It is, that's why."

"I'm surprised they even let me in the door. Surely they don't normally let plebs in?"

Nick just grins, and cups Louis's elbow, guiding him towards their table. "Stick with me, love. You'd be amazed which places let you in."

Louis rolls his eyes as they sit down. "If the menu's all in French, Nicholas, you'd have been better off taking me to McDonalds."

The maître d' looks horrified. Nick kicks Louis under the table. "Philistine," he says.

"If I knew what that was," Louis tells him, reaching for the wine list, "I'd probably agree."

"God," Nick says, admiringly, "You're terrible."

"There's no prices listed," Louis says, eyeing Nick over the list. "I've got a bottle of wine at home I got for three pounds. I bet it's better than any of these."

"Possibly," says Nick. "Do you need help with the big words?"

Louis snorts, looking pleased, and when their waiter – a beautiful girl called Beatrice – stops by with water and the specials list, Louis orders, "The most expensive wine on the list, please."

Beatrice glances at Nick, hesitant, and Nick gestures that it's all right as she hands them their menus. "Only the best for you."

"Too right," Louis says, and sniffs.

The menu is not in French, but it's clearly full of things that Louis's never heard of. Quite honestly, Nick would do with a pub pizza, but Louis looks magnificent here in low light and candlelight, a glass of wine in one hand, looking unsure of himself and oddly vulnerable as he peruses the menu.

"I looked up foie gras once," Louis muses. "Sounded disgusting."

"Good. It's incredibly inhumane," says Nick. Granted it's quite delicious, but he saw that documentary as well. "See anything you like?"

"What would they say if I ordered a cheeseburger? Would they kick me out?"

"They wouldn't, you're with me," says Nick. "Would be such a waste of beef at a place like this though. How's your wine? Better than the bottle you've got at home?"

"Slightly," says Louis. He's drinking a bit too fast, cheeks already a bit pink. Nick likes him very much. Louis clears his throat. "Just barely, though. Did you notice I'm wearing Vans?"

"I did," says Nick.

Louis sighs dreamily, swirling his wine, menu apparently forgotten. "I love this place. I feel like I'm having dinner with James Bond or something."

Nick perks up and Louis frowns deeply when he realises what he's said. Nick laughs out loud. "Did you just—"

"No."

"You did! You just compared me to James Bond."

"Ugh," says Louis, disgusted. "Roger Moore. At best. Maybe."

"James Bond," Nick says. He lets out a little dreamy sigh. He's smirking on the inside. 

"Timothy Dalton," Louis says. "You're like Timothy Dalton."

"If I'm the ruggedly handsome, terribly dapper, wonderfully smooth James Bond," Nick says, raising an eyebrow. "What does that make you?"

"Miss Moneypenny, I think." Louis takes another too-big gulp of his wine. It's nice that he's nervous, Nick realises. He likes it. "Or that one who comes out of the water in that gold bikini. Or is that Star Wars?"

Nick blinks. "You're mixing up Star Wars and James Bond?"

"Most of them happened before I was born," Louis says. He rests his chin on his hand. "You were probably, like, at university or something when Star Wars came out."

"You are a _monster_ ," Nick says. "I was not at flippin' university. I'm not actually a hundred and six, you know."

"How old are you?" Louis asks. "Do you remember when there were halfpennies? How about decimalisation? We learnt about that in history. Did you have to grow up without penicillin? What's it like being old in the future?"

"Do you _want_ to be put over my knee, love? Because you're going the right way about it."

There's that moment again, that _something_ that skitters across Louis's face, quick as a flash, gone before Nick can figure it out. "Nicholas, We don't eye up dessert before we've had starters." He's flushed, and only part of that can be down to the wine. "Tell me what's good here, you probably come here every night for a cheap night out."

"I'm 37," Nick says. "And I only come here on special occasions."

Louis's eyes are a bit hooded by this point and his mouth is set in a sly half-smile, one of his sharp little canines on display. "That's almost 20 years, did you know," says Louis. "Just in case you didn't. You're pretty much 20 years older than me."

"I can do maths too," Nick says, dryly. He sips at his own wine, revelling in it a bit. He doesn't indulge in wine this nice very often.

"And this is a special occasion then?"

"Don't you think?"

Louis points at him. "I think you're trying to _impress_ me, is what I think. And that begs the question of what you want with an 19 year old, Nicholas Grimshaw."

Nick holds both hands up in surrender, laughing a bit. "I didn't know how old you were."

"Hmm," says Louis. He's putting his bloody elbows on the table. Nick already adores him. "Tell you a secret?"

"You can tell me anything," Nick answers. They're interrupted, naturally, by Beatrice, here for their order. Nick gets a salad, because he's on a new diet that mostly consists of eating no carbohydrates at all because he'd rather not waste time in a gym. For Louis, he orders prime rib. "I took you for a carnivore."

"Obviously," says Louis, well on his way to tipsy. His wine is gone. Nick pours him another glass of water. Louis makes a face, but drinks it anyway.

"What's your secret then?"

Louis grins, tongue darting out to wet his lips. His foot nudges against Nick's under the table and Nick leans in a bit, brushing the inside of his knee over the outside of Louis's. Louis tilts his head. "I know who you are."

"Of course you do. We have met before, you know."

Louis waves a dismissive hand. "No, no, I mean I know _who_ you are. Or, well, Harry knew about your fashion stuff. Harry's really into all that. You wouldn't know it, because he dresses like a pig farmer, but there we are. He told me, and then we Googled you and found the rest."

"I feel oddly violated," says Nick, who is actually more than a little pleased. "I've been Googled."

"Do you know how many pages we had to go back until we found pictures of you falling out of a club with Kate Moss?"

Nick really has literally no idea. It could be any number. He and Kate go way, way back. Nick has a phase in his past he likes to refer to as _that cokehead phase_. It is, thankfully, very far in the past. He wouldn't be able to manage as many businesses as he currently owns if he'd been doing it all on a diet of coke and vodka.

"Two," Louis says, with great satisfaction. "Two. Do you think if you asked her nicely enough, she'd fall out of a club with me, too?"

Nick's heart does a sad sort of tumble down inside his chest. "Is that what you want?" He puts his water glass down, and magically fakes an _I'm fine with whatever, and have you remembered recently that I'm brilliant_ smile. He's good at those. Usually they're the calm before the storm, but in this case he'll make an exception. 

Louis narrows his eyes. "Does she have a penis?" he asks. "Is this the big secret? Kate Moss has a penis?"

"What? No. You idiot."

"The only idiot here is you," Louis says, and he makes a very big show of rolling his eyes, even as he's leaning over the table, and bumping his fingers into Nick's. His fingernails are so bitten. Nick likes getting manicures. "The only person I like is you," he says. "And because you've made me admit that, I'm definitely having dessert. And coffee. Do you think they bring chocolates with the coffee? And can I have tea?"

Nick feels a curious sort of anticipation start to curl in his stomach. "I think they'll bring you whatever the hell I ask for, love."

"Ah," Louis says, removing his hand and sitting back in his seat with a thump. "I forgot. You're mega filthy rich."

"And showing off," Nick says. "Don't forget the showing off."

"Right," Louis says, and he's gone a bit pink again. 

"How's it working, the showing off thing?"

Louis shrugs. "All right," he says. "I suppose. Do you really have a Lamborghini?"

"A Ferrari," Nick says. 

"Right," Louis says. "I used to have my nan's car when I was at school, but I couldn't have that down here. The insurance is more than I earn, and where was I supposed to park it? I had a bike for a bit, but it got nicked. Now I'm just, like, bus boy."

"If you sit up front upstairs, you can pretend you're driving it, though," Nick says. 

Louis just laughs. "Yeah," he says. "And when was the last time you did that? You could probably buy all the buses. And still have change to eat here."

"Probably," Nick says. "When we're done here, do you want to go for a milkshake? There's this place, it's open 24 hours. You can have any flavour you want. They mix in chocolate bars and everything."

Louis looks at him for a long time while Nick speaks, and it's so unnerving that Nick trails off somewhat awkwardly.

"You want to. Like. You want to take me out for a milkshake?" Louis asks. His voice is quieter, smaller than Nick's heard it yet.

"Sure, why not?" Nick says. "I don't want the night to be over after dinner."

Louis bites his lip on a smile, looking down at his finger circling the rim of his water glass. He's a bit breath-taking, really, and has been since Nick first saw him. "You actually…you like me, then?" He probably doesn't mean to make it sound like a question, but he does. 

Nick's heart feels too big for his chest.

"Thought that was obvious, sweetheart," Nick says, smiling a little. "I didn't ask you to dinner for your impeccable table manners, you know."

Louis flicks his hair out of his eyes, huffing a breath, mock-affronted. He still doesn't take his elbows off the table. "It's just, you know, when you're as devilishly handsome as I am, I mostly get invitations for drinks."

Nick tilts his head. "And that's bad?"

"It's like," Louis waves a hand in the air. "It's like, you said dating is all about getting to know each other, right? Most people aren't, like, that interested in the dating part, with me, is all. It's usually more the, like. End of the night, stuff. Going home after."

Nick's chest tightens a bit. He knocks his knee gently against Louis's again. Louis's frowning, obviously displeased with himself, like he's said too much. Nick reaches out and covers his hand. "Louis."

"Don't," says Louis. "I'm not. I didn’t mean—"

"Love. As if I would ever let you set foot in my house wearing polyblend and Vans."

"My Vans are brilliant," Louis says, but he's still frowning. "I don't really know what a polyblend is or what bit of me is wearing it, but you'll take my Vans over my cold, dead body."

"I may, possibly—possibly—compromise on the Vans. But no promises. The rest I won't. Have you ever worn silk?"

"Silk? Are you kidding me? I don't think I've ever even touched it."

Nick reaches for his pocket, and pulls out his handkerchief. He'd spent a considerable amount of time making that into the perfect pocket square earlier, so Louis had better value this. God, he can't get his head around anyone not wanting to spend as much time as they possibly can round Louis. He's a like a fucking firework, and Nick can't take his eyes off him. He holds out his handkerchief. "There you go, love," he says. "Pure silk."

Louis reaches for it. "Do you really blow your nose on this?" he asks. It's a rich, dark burgundy, like the wine Louis's drinking. "Do silk and snot go together?"

"You're a monster," Nick says, but when Louis holds the handkerchief out for him to take back, Nick shakes his head. "Keep it," he says. "But don't stick it in the washing machine with the rest of your stuff, all right?"

"Got it," Louis says. He fumbles it into his fist. "It would be all right, you know. If you just wanted — drinks."

"No," Nick says, softly. "It wouldn't."

"I like drinks," Louis says. Nick pours him another glass of wine, because he's finished his water, and pours himself one too, but a small one because he's driving.

"I'm sure you do," he agrees. "Who doesn't?"

"I'm just saying."

"I like you," Nick tells him, impressed despite himself by Louis's persistence. "I like the things you talk about, and the way you always say what you think and that you keep me on my toes. I want to spend time with you. That so hard to believe?"

"'Course not," says Louis, scoffing. "I'm delightful."

Nick smiles, wry, and they toast ridiculously right before their food arrives. 

Dinner goes better than Nick could have hoped. Louis is the eldest of five, with four younger sisters he loves dearly and a mum he's very close to. He doesn't mention his father and Nick doesn't ask. He's studying at uni to become a teacher, but doesn't seem very passionate about it and isn't really enjoying it very much. He's known Harry for years, and they're, as he puts it, platonic soulmates. Nick's witnessed them having full conversations without actually speaking more than once the last few weeks he's been dining at their dodgy little café, so soulmates doesn't seem a stretch.

"What about you?" Louis says, cheeks red again, eyes bright and openly curious in a way he probably wouldn't be were he totally sober. "I've been answering your questions all this time. You're tricksy."

"Am not," Nick argues. They're onto coffee now, a chocolate mousse cake between them on the table, two forks next to the plate. This is most certainly not part of his diet, but Louis insisted. Nick's already had three bites more than he meant to. Louis might be trouble. 

"C'mon, tell me something I didn't find out on Google."

Nick tsks. "Well, let's see. I'm the youngest of three."

"Pegged you for a youngest child," Louis mutters. Nick ignores him.

"I have a small dog called Puppy who is the love of my life. I live and breathe music and go to Glastonbury every year if I'm not travelling for business. I'm godfather to six children, most recently my personal assistant's baby girl. Margaret. She loves me the very best. I bought her a giraffe."

"Babies love giraffes," says Louis. He has his hands folded up under his chin and a bit of chocolate on his lip that he licks away. "Wait, a real giraffe?"

"No."

"...But you could buy her a real one, if she wanted."

"Of course, yes."

Louis laughs. They've been there for nearly three hours, and Beatrice has been replaced by Roderick, who comes up behind Louis with the bill. Nick nods to him and Roderick touches Louis's shoulder gently. Nick sees something flash across Louis's face and his heart drops so fast it's startling. Louis jumps, nearly upending the table, a glass of water spilling, and he whips around, shoving his chair back a little. Nick watches, mouth open, and before he can say anything both Roderick and Louis are apologising.

"Christ," Louis says. "Sorry. I'm sorry — I'll go." He looks flustered and upset, two things Nick's never seen him be. He jumps to his feet, bumping into Roderick, and then that weird, desperate look flashes across Louis's face again, and Louis's stepping away, out of the way of both of them. 

"No," Nick says, and he reaches for Louis, hand to his wrist. That look isn't back, the weird one, but he flinches nonetheless. Nick lets go of him. "Sit down, Louis." He fumbles in his pocket for his wallet, and passes the card to Roderick, who's trying to clear up the spilled water. "Leave it," he says. "Any chance you could swipe this rather than bring the chip and pin machine over?" he says. He makes the kind of polite expression that suggests he's going to be leaving a very large tip, and Roderick nods, backing away. That's a very expensive credit card Nick's just let out of his sight, but it's okay. It's only money.

"Sorry," Louis says. His fingers are curled into the cuff of his shirt. "Sorry. I was just — he startled me. It's nothing."

It isn't nothing, and Nick isn't stupid. "Here," he says, and he refills his own water glass and pushes it over the table to where Louis is sitting. "Have mine."

"Bet you wished you'd just picked drinks now," Louis says, and he laughs, but it's the kind of awkward, desperate laugh that hurts. 

"Nah," Nick says. "I enjoy the pleasure of your company." Roderick comes back over with his card and the credit card receipt, but he doesn't go near Louis. Louis still flinches. 

Nick signs the receipt, slips an extremely large tip inside the wallet, and turns his attention back to Louis. 

"I hate surprises," Louis says, before Nick can say anything. "That's all. Don't fucking surprise me. That's it."

It isn't just it, but Nick lets it go. "Okay," he says. "You still up for milkshakes?"

Louis's head jerks up. "You still—"

"Yes," he says, quite patiently, even though his brain is still trying to make sense of what just happened. "I would still like to take you for a milkshake before I drive you home. For the record, and just so you've got time to prepare yourself, I am going to kiss you goodnight when I drop you off."

"Oh," Louis says. "Right."

"Yes," Nick says, a trifle nonsensically. "On the doorstep and everything."

Some of the tension visibly eases from Louis's posture. He clears his throat, and though he's obviously embarrassed, he really shouldn't be, and Nick doesn’t know what to make of it. He doesn't like being sneaked up on either, but the look on Louis's face when Roderick touched him was like Satan himself had put his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you any good at it?"

Nick lets out a startled laugh. "Kissing?"

"Yeah, I mean. You've got a Porsche, and you like milkshakes, and like, that was a really good steak. But, y'know. What if you're an awful kisser?"

"What if I am?"

Louis shrugs. "Deal breaker, right?"

Nick sighs, put-upon. "I suppose we'll have to find out."

He's not, of course. When he pulls up outside Louis's flat, Louis, who's been groaning about how full he is even as he downed a large chocolate shake, stays where he is in the passenger seat, grumbling. Nick walks round to let him out of the car again. Louis looks up at him, opens his mouth to say something, and then looks away and slides his hand into Nick's, slotting their fingers together as they cross the road. Nick squeezes, feeling incredibly smug. It's been a really, really good night. He's not been on a date that's gone so well, spilt water aside, in _years_.

"So," Nick says, as he refuses to look at where he's walking as he leads Louis down the alleyway to the fire escape up to his flat. It's above the back entrance to the Chinese takeaway. "If I ask you if you want to do this again?" he trails off, only a little awkward. He's never awkward. 

"Is this like Help the Aged?" Louis asks, still keeping a firm grip on Nick's hand. "Do I get a Scout badge for being kind to old people if I see you again?"

"Dunno," Nick says. "Do they do a Scout badge for being a right royal pain in the arse?"

"They should do," Louis says. "You've probably got an arm full of them. That's where they put the badges, right? On their sleeves?"

"Buggered if I know," Nick says. "Do I look like the kind of guy who thought Scouting was a good kind of hobby?"

"Lots of lads in shorts," Louis says, cocking his head to one side. 

"Yeah, and everyone knows school is a joyous experience for boys who were very obviously gay from the age of five." Nick wrinkles his nose. "I liked dressing up and putting the Brits on the telly. Were you even born the year Sam Fox presented it?"

"I don't even know who that is," Louis says. He stops on the top step of the fire escape. He's just about the same size as Nick if Nick stays on the step below. "Are you going to kiss me any time soon, or what? I've got a very busy schedule, you know."

"Well, if you've got to be somewhere--"

"I've got a minute. If you get a move on."

"I don't know why I even like you," Nick says, and he steps up onto the top step, knees either side of Louis's. He tilts Louis's chin up with the crook of his finger. "I had a lovely time tonight, you terrible monster."

"And I had a great time learning about the olden days," Louis says. "Did you really have to ride a penny farthing to school every morning?"

"You're awful," Nick says, and he cuts off any response Louis was going to make by kissing him, soft and slow. 

Louis takes to being kissed really, _really_ nicely. His breath catches in his throat and he parts his lips a little. His hands slide up Nick's arms and fold together at the nape of Nick's neck, and Nick presses his palm to the small of Louis's back through his blazer. He smells so good, and he feels so small and slight and warm pressed up against him. They kiss for a long few moments, chaste, sweet kisses, slow, and Louis's lips are wet and red when they break apart.

"What d'you think?" he says. "Deal breaker?"

Louis blinks, lets out a breathy laugh and shakes his head, stepping back. He tugs at the hem of his shirt and pushes his hair back off his face. It falls immediately back into place over his forehead. Nick reaches up to stroke it back again and Louis's head tilts to the side, cheek nuzzling into Nick's palm. He's so responsive.

"You're all right, I guess," Louis says, voice slower and huskier than it's been all night. His tongue swipes out over his chapped lips and he takes a step back, seemingly unable to keep a smile off his face. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "Nothing that can't be trained up a bit."

Nick groans, rubbing at his eyes dramatically. "Good _night_ , little monster," he says, turning away. Louis laughs behind him.

"G'night, Nicholas."

Nick watches him disappear inside, and then lets out a slow breath and descends the stairs, jogging back down the alley to his car. He's got a stupid grin on his face and the obnoxious radio station Louis had picked is still on Nick's stereo when he starts the Porsche up.

He goes home, and he strips down and curls up on the sofa with tea, a pile of work, and about a thousand reality shows to catch up with on his Sky+. He's hardly been sat down five minutes when he gets a text. _Don't suppose you'd like to do something tomorrow, or anything._

 _I'm terribly busy and important_ , Nick texts back. _What do you fancy?_

 _I'm busier and much more important,_ Louis's text says. _not quite as loaded though. Cinema, maybe? i dunno. what do mega rich businessmen do on Saturdays?_

_We polish our devil horns and practice our maniacal laughs. What do students do on Saturdays?_

_Moan about essays and decide what we're doing Saturday night usually. come on decide decide_

Nick rolls his eyes, then presses call. "Come shopping with me, I need shoes," Nick says, when Louis picks up. 

"That sounds terrible," Louis says. "That's the worst date ever."

"It is not the worst date ever, it's the best date ever," Nick says. "And if you manage not to be a total monster, we can go to the cinema afterwards. Deal?"

Louis sounds dubious. "Do you get to pick the film, or do I?"

"We'll compromise."

"Hmmm," Louis says. "No. I pick the film, you pick your shoes."

"And if I let you pick my shoes?"

"Then you are not the brightest knife in the block, love."

Nick raises his eyes to the ceiling. What is he getting himself into? He has no fucking idea. "I'll pick you up."

"I'm bored of the Porsche," Louis says. "That's so, like, last season. Bring the Ferrari this time."

"You're awful," Nick says. "If I come and ring your doorbell tomorrow, are you going to let me kiss you hello?"

"Might do," Louis says. "If you ask me nicely."

"I never do anything without asking nicely," says Nick. 

Louis hums. "Whatever, it's very late and I have to go to sleep."

"I'll pick you up at nine tomorrow."

"In the morning?" Louis asks. He sounds horrified. It's delightful.

"In the morning. We'll get breakfast."

"That's so early," Louis whines, over-dramatic and wonderful.

"Early bird gets the worm and all," says Nick.

"Early bird _and_ the worm, you mean," says Louis, sounding terribly pleased with himself.

"Dreadful monster," Nick tells him, and Louis makes an agreeable sound.

"All right, fine. I know you can't help but want to spend all day with me. You're hopelessly in love with me. Don't want to let me out of your sight for even a moment." 

"Have Zayn dress you properly tomorrow, will you?"

"Zayn dresses like an idiot," says Louis at once, which is just untrue. "I'm going to wear tracksuit bottoms and knee socks."

Nick spends a nice, happy two seconds imagining Louis in knee socks, and then shakes his head. "Awful," he says. "You're awful. For that, I'm coming round at 8:45."

"Nowhere is open at 8:45 on a Saturday. You're having me on now."

Nick sighs. "I'll let you drive the Ferrari." He's going to die. They're both going to die. "You'd better wear the knee socks after all. If we're going to die because you drive like a monster, I might as well die happy."

"Gosh," Louis says, after a pause. "I do believe you're terribly kinky."

"Only when the situation calls for it," Nick says. He remembers the way Louis flinched. "I don't have to be. It's okay."

"Hmmm," Louis says, ignoring him. "Knee socks. Okay."

"Monster," Nick says. "Go to bed, little one. You're keeping an old man up."

"You wish," Louis says, and it almost sounds fond. He's hung up before Nick's had a chance to think of anything witty to say in return. 

 

~*~

Nick had trouble sleeping, which was ridiculous, and he'd ended up stroking Puppy for what felt like hours before finally feeling quiet enough to actually sleep. He's never able to sleep late, even at the weekend, since he's so used to getting to the office so early, so in the morning he gets up at normal time, walks his dog and goes to the gym, has a shower and gets dressed, and still has time to read a bit of gossip online about Taylor Swift and a possible new beau before he has to leave to get to Louis's by nine.

When he pulls up, Louis is waiting on the top step of the fire escape, mostly asleep, hair still a bit wet and tucked into a beanie. Nick takes the steps two at a time, grinning. Louis yawns up at him. "I thought you said you were going to be here at 8:45."

"I was just teasing." He crouches down on the second to the top step. Louis blinks sleepily, mouth pulling into a smile that he tries to hide with a little cough. "Morning," Nick murmurs.

"Early morning," Louis agrees. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

Nick mutters something about obnoxious lads under his breath, but touches his fingers to Louis's cheek and snares his lips in a kiss. Louis is still sleep-warm and pliant, and he touches his tongue to Nick's bottom lip before he pulls back. Nick knocks their foreheads together gently. "That okay?"

"You missed me," says Louis. "Did you bring the Ferrari?"

"If I said no," Nick says, "would you still go out with me?"

"Nah," Louis says. "I won't snog anyone who doesn't have at least two mega expensive sports cars to their name. I've only seen one so far."

"Oh," Nick says. "If that's the case, we'd better hold off on the kissing, then, you know, until there's proof. Sports car proof."

Louis makes a face. "I got up early for this."

"You're all damp."

"Only a little bit." Louis stumbles into the metal bannister. "How do you stand on snogging in the cinema?"

"All for it, in principle." He bumps his fist into Louis's outstretched fingers, one breath and then the next. 

"In principle?"

"Depends on the film, doesn't it? You don't want to be getting all hot and heavy in the back of a kids' film, do you? It's a bit weird."

Louis leans in and hooks his finger into Nick's belt loop. "You're a bit weird."

"I blame you." Nick clears his throat. "So. You fancy driving a Ferrari?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," says Louis. He hooks both his fingers in Nick's belt loops, and tugs him in a bit. Nick stumbles and catches himself on the railing behind Louis. Louis looks expectant. "Where are your keys?"

Nick holds them up between them and Louis's eyes crinkle with his smile. He kisses Nick's chin and ducks out from under his arm, leading the way down the stairs and into the alley with rather more pep than he started out with. There are several people around looking at Nick's car in open admiration. Louis's chest is all puffed out like a proud father holding the keys, drinking in the sight of it. He stands there in the road just staring for so long that Nick has to usher him closer to let another car pass.

"Any time now, love. Do you want me to drive?"

" _No_ ," says Louis, clutching the keys to his chest.

"I'm just offering. There's no shame in admitting you can't handle it."

"Oh fuck you," says Louis. Nick opens his door for him, as he's wont to do, and Louis slides into the driver's seat. He lets out a dreamy sigh and squirms around. "It fits my bum quite nicely."

"You must not get to say that very often, bum like yours," Nick offers, and closes the door before Louis can punch him in the nads.

Nick has already programmed the sat nav to take them to the Westfield at White City, and Nick takes a glorious amount of pleasure in watching Louis manhandle his beloved car with something akin to desperate glee. Nick does it all whilst pretending to be terribly cool with a charming young man in the driving seat, when inside he's a bit of a mangled mess of feelings. 

This boy, honestly. 

"It's taking us into the congestion zone," Louis tells him, when Nick's lost track of where they are in favour of watching Louis take to his Ferrari like a duck to water. "Oh, I forgot, you're mega rich."

"Yep," Nick says. He thinks he has the congestion charge fee zone thing set up automatically. He would imagine so, at least. No one has tried to take him to court for unpaid charges. He has an assistant to take care of that, anyway. Two or three assistants, actually. He likes assistants. "How'd you like the Ferrari?"

Louis shrugs at the same time as crossing two lines of traffic. "It's all right," he says. "I suppose. Not sure it's as good as my nan's car. That was properly brilliant. Little Corsa."

"Bet you were king of the world in your sixth form," Nick says. He fights the urge to lean over and tuck his fingers into the collar of Louis's shirt. "You and your car."

"Too right," Louis agrees. "Everyone wanted to be my friend. Me and my car."

"So," Nick says, as Louis takes a corner far too fast and zooms past the sign indicating the turning coming up for the multi-storey car park by the Westfield. "How do you stand on holding hands in public?"

"I reckon we'll have to, else people will think I'm your servant or summat," says Louis, but he gives Nick a little smile that makes Nick's insides warm right up. Louis tilts his head. "Of course, if they think you're my father, it might seem a bit—"

"I don't look old enough to be your father!" Nick argues, affronted.

"But you _are_ old enough to be my father, remember?" Louis teases. He's crossing lines of traffic again, though even Nick has to admit it's quite beautifully done. "Don't worry, I'll only call you Daddy if you want me to."

Nick's breath catches in his throat, hard enough to make him cough. Lough makes a big deal of gasping theatrically. " _Naughty_ , Mr Grimshaw! Who'd have thought it?"

"You can't just say things like that," says Nick, trying not to laugh, embarrassed. It's been years and years since anyone has been able to embarrass him.

"I say what I like," says Louis. "Do I park here, then?"

"Just in here, yes."

Louis gets them parked, well away from any other car in the car park so that the Ferrari doesn't get dinged. It's thoughtful. Louis gives Nick his key dongle back and unbuckles his seatbelt, but doesn't make any move to get out of the car. He eyes Nick curiously. Nick lifts an eyebrow. "Something you need, love?"

"I was just thinking."

"Dangerous, that."

"Shut up. I was just thinking that I'm glad you came into my café."

" _Your_ café," Nick teases, touched.

" _My_ café," says Louis, blushing. "Shut up. Are we going in or not?"

"We're going in, " Nick says, and he reaches for Louis's hand with a little more awkwardness than he would normally be guilty of. Louis laces their fingers together and swings their hands a bit. He's blushing. It's delicious. _He's_ delicious. "And, for the record, I'm glad I walked into your greasy spoon that day too."

"My cafe is not a greasy spoon," Louis is probably trying to sound affronted, but he's too busy blushing over Nick holding his hand to do it properly justice. Nick is touched. "You'd better buy me breakfast," Louis goes on. "I'm flat broke and you're loaded." He blushes a bit more, and waits until they're inside the posh end of Westfield before talking again. "I don't know what this means, holding hands. I know what drinks mean. That's easy. But, just, like... if I have to do something. In return. You have to tell me."

"You don't have to do anything, love," says Nick, overly fond for someone he's only taken out twice, even if they've been talking over Nick's café order for the last few weeks. He likes this nervous, accidentally honest Louis a bit too much, truth be told. He squeezes Louis's hand and tugs him a bit closer, so Louis is pressed in close to his side and Nick can untangle their fingers to get an arm securely around him instead.

"I know, that's not what I meant. I just, like. I don't want you to think—"

"I don't think," says Nick at once. "In general. Terrible business, bad for my colours."

"You're such an arse," Louis says, but he sounds admiring. Nick presses a quick kiss to his temple, squeezes him in a quick hug and laces their fingers together again.

"What're you thinking for breakfast? Could find some cornflakes for you, probably."

"I want something proper," says Louis. He rubs his stomach. "I'm a growing boy."

"Indeed," says Nick. "Krispy Kreme, then?"

Louis gives him a dirty look that makes Nick smile. "Have you ever even _had_ a Krispy Kreme, your royal highness?"

"Once," Nick says. "At Euston. Before a business trip. Good, I think. Got custard on my sleeve."

"Good thing you're not in the clothing business, then. Oh, wait."

"Monster," Nick says, affectionately. Fashion's only a bit of his empire, anyway. "There's a juice bar. Boost. Smoothie do you?"

Louis wrinkled his nose. "Is an Egg McMuffin really off the menu? Or hash browns. Maccy D's do brilliant hash browns. Well good."

Nick hasn't been in a McDonalds since sometime last century. He's not starting now. 

They end up in McDonalds, Louis with his arms round Nick's waist, making fun of Nick's face. Nick has millions in the bank, okay, he doesn't do McDonalds for breakfast. 

It tastes pretty good, though. And Louis smirks at him the whole way through. Nick is going to have to go to the gym twice to work this off. Louis is a monster. He's terrible.

After breakfast, Louis drags Nick into nearly every shop they happen across. From the way he protested on the phone, Nick took Louis for someone far too laddy to enjoy this sort of thing, but taste standards aside, Louis obviously adores shopping, and clothes, and ridiculous trainers and silly t-shirts with superheroes on them. In one shop, he tries on about thirty different bobble hats, and an Indiana Jones fedora that he quickly transfers onto Nick's head.

"I don't really go for hats," says Nick. He picks up a ridiculous, gaudy costume jewellery necklace and puts it over Louis's head to rest around his neck. Louis frowns down at it.

"I look very dashing," he says.

After that, they wander through Burberry and, at Louis's behest, Gucci. Nick has a personal stylist and in the last year has got so busy that his assistant tends to do his shopping. It feels like it's been ages since he's come to a shop on his own. Louis sticks close to his side in the more high end shops. "Are they looking at me like I'm a hooker? Like in _Pretty Woman_?"

"Of course not," Nick laughs, putting his hand on the small of Louis's back and guiding him back to look at the shoes. He'd spoken to Colette last night when she called to catch up after his date, and he'd spilled everything about Louis, and she'd been able to tell he couldn't stop smiling even over the phone, which was depressing and a sign they'd known each other too long. She'd teased him mercilessly about collecting himself a pretty young thing, calling him a _sugar daddy_ a lot more than once. It should probably have chastised him into no longer wanting to dress Louis up like his own personal mannequin, but it really hasn't. He's a bit astounded that he's managed to go more than an hour without buying him everything he's ever wanted already.

"Let's get coffee," Louis says, after Nick's bought nothing, but has spent an awfully long time imagining dressing Louis up in nothing but the best cut clothes in London. He wants to go to Savile Row and get him the best suit, handmade and designed to fit him like a glove. He wants to take it off him, lay him out on his bed and make him beg until he's breathless. 

"Okay," Nick agrees, and he lets Louis drag him into Starbucks. Louis picks the most revolting thing on the menu, obviously, sugar syrup and flavourings, but Nick is getting used to how terrible he is. "So, are you going to let me buy you an outfit, or what?"

"Depends," Louis says, considering. He stirs his awful iced drink with a straw. "Is this you trying to change me? Will you only be seen with me if I wear boat shoes from now on in?"

"As though I'd have a chance to change something as stubborn as you."

"I'm not stubborn," says Louis, smirk firmly in place. He sips at his revolting drink and gives Nick a searching look. Nick makes a face at him and Louis rolls his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"You have no idea," Nick agrees. He tangles their feet together under the table. Louis must've slipped one of his shoes off, because his foot slides up the side of Nick's calf, the arch curving around it. Nick makes an exaggerated groan, and Louis hums, pleased.

"No outfits today, I think," says Louis. "I have very refined taste, you probably couldn't afford what I'd like to wear. It costs far more than your Ferrari. _And_ your Porsche. Both together. Hand-stitched material. Woven from, like, unicorn mane hair."

"Unicorn mane hair," Nick repeats.

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course I do. It sounds absolutely priceless. I could never afford it."

"Never." Louis drops his foot away and squirms, probably putting his shoe back on. It's very attractive to watch, him squirming, tongue stuck out between his teeth. "There's a showing soon of that new Chris Pine film," Louis tells him.

"Already?" Nick asks. "It's hardly lunchtime."

Louis shrugs. "Thought you might have some other things to show me this afternoon. I expect you've been lying to me about that Lamborghini you say you don't have. I'd better have a look at your garage. Just in case."

"Fine," Nick says, and he starts to gather their stuff together, their drinks and his scarf and the muffin Louis had made him buy for him that he hasn't touched yet.

"Hey," Louis says. "What's the rush?"

Nick just grins. "Drink up, love. There's one more shop I want to go to before the cinema."

Louis might be sniffy about a new outfit, but even he can't turn down a scarf, right? It's getting cold out, and Louis is just in his ridiculous beanie. 

"This costs more than I make in a week," Louis says, flatly, once they're in the shop. Nick carefully doesn't say that Louis deserves to earn more. 

"It'll keep you warm," Nick points out, holding a red one and a blue one out. He decides on the red.

"Is it made from diamonds?" Louis asks. "what wool could possibly cost as much as this?" he doesn't stop complaining even when they get to the till, and Nick puts his platinum card in the chip and pin machine. 

"Don't mind him," Nick tells the sale assistant. "He's never seen a scarf before. He's Australian."

"Dickhead," Louis says, fondly. He lets Nick wrap the scarf round his neck. "Do I sound Australian?"

"Maybe," the sales assistant says. Nick snorts. 

"Cinema?" he asks, holding out his hand. 

Louis keeps Nick's hand gripped tightly in his own the whole walk there, the other fiddling with his new scarf. Nick knows it's impossibly soft. That had been the point. Louis can't seem to stop touching it, rubbing his fingers over it and pushing it against his face. Nick loves watching him.

"You didn't have to," Louis says. "You know I'm just like, teasing about you buying me stuff."

"I know." And Nick does, somehow. Louis isn't like the other people Nick's made an attempt at dating. 

Louis wets his lips, presses a bit closer when they walk through a crowd of people to join the queue at the cinema ticket booth. "I like it, though. I mean I'm not going to argue, or anything."

Nick rolls his eyes, which is hopefully the reaction Louis was going for, and folds him up in his arms as they wait. It's a long queue, the cinema very busy with teenagers and families. Louis smells incredible. Nick wishes he'd left the beanie off, so he could push his fingers into Louis's hair and feel if it's as soft as it looks. Louis is hesitant, people watching them, but only for a moment until he relaxes back into Nick's chest, small shoulders fitting inside the frame of Nick's.

"So touchy feely," Louis grumbles, rubbing his thumb along Nick's hand where it rests on Louis's belly.

"You like it," Nick murmurs.

Louis shrugs, turns his face into Nick's neck and breathes in. "Maybe," he allows.

Nick buys their tickets for the movie, and they bypass popcorn but get a bucket-sized Coke for Louis and walk into the screen hand-in-hand. Louis starts immediately toward the very top, very back row. Nick follows willingly.

"You sit there," Louis demands, pointing at the seat right in the middle of the row.

"Never would have asked you out if I'd known you were going to be this bossy," Nick tells him, nevertheless obediently sitting down.

"Yes, you would," Louis says, deliciously confident even as he's dropping down into Nick's lap and wrapping an arm round Nick's neck. He leans in and touches his nose to Nick's. "That's for the scarf, " he says softly, and then he tilts his chin up a little, his mouth just grazing Nick's. "And that's for today."

Nick keeps him steady with a hand to the small of his back as the lights go down and the adverts start. His heart's pounding. "You're so brilliant," he says, before he can stop himself. "Really fucking lovely, Louis."

"You're just saying that because you want your Ferrari back," Louis says, but his voice wobbles a bit. "A little bit of sweet talking and you think you're getting your mid life crisis penis mobile back without a fight."

"Rumbled," Nick says, fingertips sneaking under Louis's clothes to stroke at his hip. "You got me."

'Yeah," Louis says, and he tilts forward until his forehead is resting against Nick's.

The adverts are loud, something exploding in the background. Nick's not paying much attention. His heart is pounding and Louis's skin is so warm where Nick touches his hip. Louis leans into it, noses along Nick's cheek, kitten-like, like Nick's something delicate. Nick strokes his hand down Louis's back and settles him more comfortably into his lap and Louis's eyes close, long lashes brushing Nick's cheekbone.

"You feel good," Louis murmurs in his ear. "Even just like this."

Christ. Nick's too old for this, too old for his stomach to be turning somersaults. He finds one of Louis's hands and brings it to his lips, grazing one kiss over the knuckles, and then another. Louis smiles against Nick's face, lifts his head and slants their mouths together.

It's more than good, is the thing. It's bloody fantastic, better than any kiss he's ever shared with anyone else, and Nick has a lot of notches on his belt. Louis is so far from his usual type, small and loud and bossy, and he's so stunning and beautiful and challenging and complicated. Nick wants to take him apart, see all his pieces, anything and everything Louis is willing to show him. He presses his tongue to the seam of Louis's mouth, questioning, and Louis parts his lips with a little sigh, cupping Nick's cheek in one hand, massaging at Nick's neck and shoulder with the other. Nick shifts a bit, pulling Louis in tighter. He tugs the beanie off Louis's head, lets it drop between them into his lap. He threads his fingers through Louis's hair, testing the length of it, cradling the base of Louis's skull in his palm as he tongues at the ridges on the roof of Louis's mouth.

"You'll get us thrown out," Louis tells him, with great satisfaction. He kisses Nick's nose. No one has ever kissed Nick's nose, apart from his mum. How Louis has managed to get this much under Nick's skin so quickly, he doesn't understand. "You'll get us thrown out and then someone will take a picture of you being chucked out and you'll be in the _Metro_ on Monday morning. How do you think they'll label me? I'm going for toy boy."

Nick strokes his thumb over Louis's hip. He wants to pick apart all of Louis's component parts, understand what makes him tick, touch him everywhere, make him beg and whine and clamour for more. He wants to dress him and undress him and buy him everything. He's never not generous but wanting to lavish money like this is unusual. "Gentleman companion, I like."

"That obviously makes me the gentleman, though, and that's bollocks."

"How about boyfriend?" Nick suggests softly, over the sound of someone blowing up the White House in a trailer. They're always blowing up the sodding White House. He curls his fingers into Louis's hair and tilts his chin up. "How does boyfriend sound?"

He knows it's too much, too soon. He's not an idiot, apart from where Louis is concerned, apparently. 

Louis blinks at him, lips parting, eyes wide. He's so, so lovely, and Nick's heart is racing, but he doesn't regret it at all, being an idiot. He's only as successful as he is because he's always, _always_ gone after what he's wanted. He doesn't say anything else, only strokes the pad of his thumb over Louis's jaw. 

"You rich businessmen," Louis says, ducking his head a little. "So confident. Think you can just claim me as your boyfriend just like that. One and a half dates in."

Nick grins, affecting a careless expression. "You've got a problem with that?"

"No," Louis says, almost too fast. He takes a deep breath and rolls his eyes at himself, fingering the scarf around his neck. "Besides, you're the one taking the big risk here, aren't you? You don't even know me."

"I think I know you better than you think," Nick whispers, because another trailer's come on that's louder than the others, and he puts his mouth close to Louis's ear. "And I am an _excellent_ judge of character."

"I might steal all your money and assets."

Nick shrugs. "Worth the risk, I think."

Louis knocks their foreheads together again. "Yeah?"

Nick kisses his cheek. "Yeah."

Nick wants to press his hands to Louis's arse and draw him closer in, hold him near and kiss him breathless, hold him so close, learn every curve of him, every last breath. He barely knows himself, the way he's responding, the way he wants. 

"Get off me," Louis says. "You're deliberately obscuring my view of Chris Pine."

"You're leaving me for Chris Pine already," Nick says, faking a pout. "Is this how it's going to be from now on?"

"Baby," Louis says, patting his cheek. "I'm always going to leave you for Chris Pine."

"You're a terror," Nick says admiringly. "This is going to be fun."

Louis laughs. "I won't settle for less than a Lamborghini, just so you know."

"We'll see," Nick says. 

Eventually, Louis slides into his own seat, because a family with older kids sit down almost right next to them. It's all right, though, because Nick spends the film with Louis snug against his side, their fingers laced together and resting on Nick's stomach, Louis's head tucked into Nick's neck. Nick doesn't pay much attention to the film, too busy tracing the shell of Louis's ear with his fingertip, or stroking Louis's hair, or rubbing his thumb over the pulse point in Louis's neck.

When the credits start to roll, Louis lifts himself up and looks at Nick expectantly. "Well, what'd you think?"

"Was good," Nick says. "Explosions. And, uh. Chris Pine."

Louis gives him a decidedly ridiculous grin, stands up, and stretches long, shirt riding up to expose his belly. Nick wets his lips, mouth suddenly dry. He'll be taking Louis home, now, to his house, at Louis's request. He'll be taking his boyfriend Louis Tomlinson home for the first time.

"Do you fancy staying at mine for dinner?" He's good enough at what he does that he manages to sound completely nonchalant whilst being terribly nervous on the inside. He's not normally nervous. Normally he has a team of legal associates at his beck and call, a ridiculously huge salary that he genuinely doesn't know what to do with, and a rather fierce dedication to being the very best at what he does. How that translates to being nervous over a nineteen year old who's managed to firmly lodge himself terribly close to Nick's heart in not that much time at all, Nick has no idea. 

Louis narrows his eyes. "Can you cook?" he asks, as they head out of the cinema and past the pick and mix, towards the exit. "Is this just your way of luring me inside your house so you can kill me?"

The family next to them on the escalator look from Louis to Nick and back again. Nick smiles at them. "Don't mind him," he says. "Terrible disease. Always has to say the most inappropriate thing he can think of in any given circumstance. Untreatable, unfortunately. He's destined to be a total terror."

"Yes," Louis agrees, and tucks his hand into Nick's. "When I grow up, I want to be just like you, Daddy." 

"See?" Nick says, simultaneously turned on and horrified. This is glorious. He hasn't had this much fun since, well, he can't remember. "Total flipping terror."

Louis sticks his tongue out at him, but doesn't let go of his hand. Nick's half-hard and he can't tell if it's the worst thing that's ever happened, or the best. 

"Aren't you too old to be holding hands with your daddy?" says a little girl, her own hand clutched tightly in her mother's. Her mum shushes her quickly and Nick has to turn away to hide his smile.

"It's all right," Louis tells the little girl. "Different sort of daddy."

'Hmm," says the little girl.

Louis opens his mouth to say something else and Nick quickly covers it with his hand. He half expects Louis to lick his palm, but he just feels Louis smile under it instead. The family rushes off the escalator when they reach the end. Nick lets his hand drop from his face and Louis turns a bit, nudging their shoulders together, and presses the keys of the Ferrari into Nick's hand. 

"You don't want to drive?"

"Reckon, before we make this totally official, boyfriend and all," says Louis, "I should really see how _you_ handle your Ferrari."

Nick's face lights up in a smile. The things he wants to do to Louis are probably illegal. The things he's about to do with his car to show off most definitely are. "I reckon you should, love." 

They go back to the car via Waitrose, Nick throwing a few bits and pieces into a basket along with a bottle of very nice red wine. He has, over the years, pulled together a few recipes he can put together with minimum effort and maximum results, and tonight is one of those nights he really wants to show off. Louis trails round after him, talking very loudly about how much everything costs in relation to his local Lidl. He's a menace.

He's delightful.

"Where do you even put shopping in a Ferrari, anyway?" Louis asks, tucking his smaller hand into Nick's on their way back to the car. He does a little hop that Nick's partially convinced is halfway to being a skip. He's so charmed by him, honestly.

"There's a boot," Nick says, which is a lie. There's a teeny tiny space. It barely fits his Burberry overnight bag in. It'll probably fit this shopping in. Hopefully.

"Thought I'd have to balance it on my knee," Louis says. "Not sure if I could be properly in awe of your handling skills if I was stuck holding a packet of chicken and some tomatoes."

"Sweetheart," Nick says. "I'll handle you in a minute."

"Saucy," Louis says. "Is it true where they say, though? Mid life crisis cars are just the equivalent of a penis extension?"

Nick throws the shopping into the boot space, and backs Louis into the side of the Ferrari, one hand to his hip, bracketing him. He leans in to kiss the underside of Louis's jaw. "Anyone ever kiss you up against a Ferrari before?" he asks. He nips his teeth over Louis's throat.

"My last boyfriend had a Lamborghini," Louis says, a little breathless already. It does glorious things to Nick's stomach. Even the mention of an ex-boyfriend, a made up ex-boyfriend, is enough to make Nick want to pin Louis to the bed. "Six of them, in fact."

Nick growls. "Menace," he says, and he steps back, out of Louis's arms. "Get in the car, you terror, and wait and see what I can do."

Louis goes up on his toes to kiss the corner of Nick's mouth. "It takes a lot to impress me."

"I'm up to the challenge," Nick tells him.

Louis makes a show of getting comfortable in the passenger seat, being precious about putting on his seatbelt and squirming around because apparently the arse imprint Nick left in the seat is unsatisfactory. 

"Now I know you're a very old man but remember I have to be seen in here with you, so be sure you don't drive too slowly. Do you need your glasses?"

"Don't you wear glasses?" Nick asks, starting the car. It rumbles to life. He really ought to drive this more. It's so much fun. 

"How did you know?" Louis asks.

"I could see the line of your contacts when you were on my lap earlier," says Nick. "No right to be complaining about my eyesight."

"Just your age then, and how you like to rob from the cradle."

Nick ignores him. "You should let me see you in glasses. I bet you look very cute in them."

"I do."

"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" Nick asks, executing a perfect reverse out of the parking space, with barely an eye on the rear view mirror.

"Absolutely," Louis says comfortably. "Do you expect me to be impressed with that, by the way? You should have seen me with my nan's car in the school car park. I was fucking fast and the furious in that thing, no kidding."

Nick takes the corners out of the car park at a speed he's fairly convinced will result in the end of his car, given the slightest provocation. He acts unconcerned. "Did you wear one of those tiny little skirts like all the girls in those films? They're always hanging around car parks in very tiny skirts."

"Nicholas," Louis says, scandalised. "You're filthy. Filthy dirty. You're whisking me away to dress me up in tiny skirts, aren't you? Filthy."

"Do you have something against frilly skirts?" Nick asks, trying to keep his voice teasing instead of disappointed. Or hungry. It's not his fault he has a thing for tiny, frilly skirts.

"Course not," says Louis. "With my bum it would be a shame, wouldn't it? Haven't you looked at my bum?"

"Absolutely not, I'm a proper gentleman."

Louis snorts, and they lapse into silence as Nick pulls out of the car park. Then he says, "I quite like skirts, really. For Halloween once, I was a girl. Wore a little dress I could hardly move in, it was so tight. I shaved my legs and everything. My friend Eleanor took me with her to a waxing appointment, even, I got all bare down here," he gestures at his crotch and Nick nearly rear-ends the car in front of him, "had it all taken off too. Hurt like a fucking bitch, but was smooth for ages. Still get the inkling to do it every now and then. What d'you think?"

"Christ," Nick says. He waits at the traffic lights like a nice, normal adult with totally normal adult behaviours. 

"Yes?" Louis asks. He sounds a bit prim. 

_Menace_ , Nick thinks. _Menace, menace, menace_. "I think, love, if there was ever a time you wanted to shave everywhere—or wax everywhere, whatever floats your hair removal boat—then that would be something I could work with."

"Could work with, or would want to work with?" Louis asks, and he sneaks his hand over the console to rest his fingertips on Nick's thigh. "For research purposes only, obviously. Asking for a friend."

The traffic lights turn to red-and-amber, and then green. Nick revs the engine, only slightly by accident. "You'd be beautiful," he says, without taking his eyes off the road. "But then I'm inclined to think that you always would be, so I think you're polling a biased group."

Louis leaves his hand on Nick's thigh, and doesn't say anything for a bit. 

"Good answer," Louis murmurs finally, and his thumb draws circles sweetly on the inside of Nick's knee. Nick covers it with his own, just for a moment, squeezing before he has to get back to the gear stick. 

Louis is a good driver, and certainly took well to Nick's expensive cars, but Nick has years of experience and an entire decade of youthful indiscretions under his belt. By the time they return to his house, Louis is all but high on excitement, laughing. As soon as Nick pulls through the gate, though, Louis goes quiet and wide-eyed and small, crouching over to see through the windscreen. 

"Oh my God," he breathes.

"Yeah?" says Nick.

"You live here?"

"I do."

"All alone?"

Nick's chest clenches a bit. "All alone, yes. It's not so bad, though, my friends are round fairly often."

He eases the car to a stop in front of the main door. It can stay here, tonight. He'll leave it out to take Louis home later in case he'd rather not spend the night. But Nick is really, really hoping that Louis will stay over.

Louis stumbles out of the car and stands on the gravel, looking up at the house. "I've been in shopping centres smaller than this," he say, his fingers curling into his scarf, which must be a lie. It's not that big. "There is literally no way on earth you could be a businessman with this much money unless you're totally evil. Are you? Are we going to get inside and it's just going to be full of like, white fluffy cats, so you've always got one to hand to put on your knee and be evil with?"

Nick goes over and tucks two fingers into the waistband of Louis's jeans. "I'll let you into a secret," he says, leaning in to whisper in Louis's ear. "Not only am I a spectacularly talented businessman, and absolutely worthy of every award I've ever been given—"

"Modest, too," Louis puts in. 

"Yes, absolutely modest, it's a thing. But on top of that, I happened to be very, very lucky too. Right place, right time, right clothing line, right opportunities, right everything. Right acquisitions team. Right business decisions at the right time."

Louis tilts his head back, resting against Nick's shoulder. "And me?" 

Nick strokes his fingertips up Louis's throat. He crooks his finger and touches Louis's cheek, before leaning in and twisting them round so that he can kiss Louis's inquisitive expression right off his face. "My lucky streak had to break sometime," he says, deadpan, and Louis elbows him in the side. 

"Oi," he says. "I'm fucking marvellous." He kisses Nick again, standing up on his tip toes to grin against Nick's mouth. "I'm hungry. Are you going to cook for me, or what?"

They end up in Nick's cavernous kitchen, Louis barefoot, sitting on the counter with Puppy in his lap while Nick chops vegetables and boils water for pasta. Puppy _adores_ Louis, takes to him faster than she's taken to anyone—including Nick—and Louis's careful mask of aloof disinterest is completely absent in the face of Nick's dog. They're best friends by the time Nick's pouring the pasta in. Louis's holding her like a baby and stroking her tummy.

"You're just the most precious aren't you, sweetheart?" says Louis. Puppy yips and her tongue lolls out of her head.

"Why didn't you take to me like this?" says Nick. "I had to woo you for months."

"Yeah, yeah," says Louis. "Months, and less than two dates."

"I beg your pardon," says Nick. He tosses a bit of parsley at Louis, who catches it carelessly and puts it on Puppy's nose. Puppy sneezes and it falls to the floor. "I went to that shit cafe every morning—"

"It's not shit!" Louis says.

"Every morning," Nick goes on, as though Louis hasn't spoken, "just to see you. I ate your porridge."

Louis smiles, a small, quiet smile, and hops off the counter to put Puppy on her feet on the floor. "You did," he says. "I could wrap you around my little finger, couldn't i?"

Nick puts the knife down, and turns back around. "Yes," he says, completely honestly. Nick is rarely honest. "Are you going to take advantage of that?"

Louis steps forward, feet either side of Nick's, and leans in to touch his nose to Nick's. He's young and beautiful and effortlessly darling, and he's slid into Nick's life like butter melting off a knife, and Nick is rarely, rarely open with how he feels. He wants to take Louis apart, give him what he doesn't even realise he needs yet, give him everything, make him the best he can be. He wants all of that, but he can't hide. "Are you going to take advantage of the fact that I'm mad for you?" Louis asks, gaze dropping to Nick's mouth, and sliding back up again. "Everyone's going to call you my sugar daddy, including me."

Nick can't help the shiver that trembles across his skin at that. 

Louis's eyes are impossibly bright. "Daddy," he says, softly, and Nick slides his hands down over the delicious curve of Louis's arse and tugs him in closer, rolling his hips down against Louis's, the only way Nick has of saying, _mine_. "God, you're filthy."

"Yeah," Nick says, and he palms Louis's bum. "Think you might be too, though. Right?"

Louis grins at that. "Yeah," he says. "The things I want you to do to me."

"Christ," Nick breathes. He slides his hand down to the back of Louis's thigh, just under his bum. Louis's thighs are magnificent. Louis is magnificent, really. He's feisty and beautiful and funny and Nick wants every single piece of him. Nick's selfish, his job depends on it, the same way he's competitive and possessive and confident and secretly full of his own insecurities. He wants Louis in his arms and in his bed and in every part of his life. It's impossible to believe he's fallen quite so hard, quite so fast. He kisses Louis's jaw, his neck, smiles against Louis's little gasp. "Tell me about them all."

"God," Louis growls, clutching at Nick's back, hitching his hips up against Nick's. He's eager, and young. Nick could probably make him come four or five times tonight, could probably sink inside him and watch him come apart on his cock over and over again. Louis's fingers curl into Nick's hair at the back of his head, his lips pressed to the sensitive skin just in front of Nick's ear. "I want you so much. Since the second you walked in, you know? Rich hipster businessman in our shit cafe, looking so out of place. Wandered in off the street, wet through."

"Hey, now," says Nick, quite sure he's being insulted.

"I want you to touch me," Louis murmurs. The water is boiling now, but Nick couldn't tear himself from Louis if he tried. He grips Louis's spectacular bum in both hands and squeezes. Louis lets out a quiet little moan that makes Nick's cock twitch. "I want you all over me. I want to dress up for you, want to sit in your lap like a very good boy."

"Brat," Nick breathes, so turned on he can hardly bear it.

"I want you in my mouth," Louis whispers, pulling Nick's earlobe between his teeth. "Can I have that, Daddy?"

"God," Nick says. "How hungry are you really?"

Louis bites at his earlobe again. "For food, or to be on my knees for you? Because the last one's all I've thought about all day. Ever since you walked into my caff actually, filthy rich hipster, that's all I wanted."

"Well, then," Nick says, and he pulls away, fumbling for the knob to turn the hob off. "Fuck, you can have whatever the fuck you want." He'll moderate this later, when he can scramble some control back, and take Louis to pieces. Right now there's just need pulsing through him, blurring the lines between intention and reality. _Daddy_ , fuck. Nick squeezes Louis's bum again, drawing him closer. He undoes Louis's belt one-handed, a skill he'd picked up in his early twenties, when effortless fucking was all the rage. He pushes Louis's jeans down, and he's not fucking wearing underwear. "You're a terrible human being," he tells him, but he's spreading his hands over the delicious curve of Louis's arse, sneaking a fingertip down between Louis's cheeks. He wants to see him for the first time, wants to kneel down behind him and lick him out, until Louis is whimpering and desperate and begging him for more. "Such a tease, aren't you, little one? Such a tease."

"Says you," Louis says, pressing nearer. His little hands grip the sleeves of Nick's desperately expensive shirt, pulling it out of shape. He mouths at Nick's throat. "With your cars, and your face, and your—" he gasps, "—your everything. I want to suck you off. Let me suck you off."

Nick pulls back, and takes Louis's clothes off, one piece at a time, and then Louis is naked in front of him, golden-skinned and short and with his dick curving up, fat and a little slick at the tip. There's a thick, pale scar over his hip, dipping down and disappearing into his pubes. 

"Like what you see?" Louis asks, raising an eyebrow. He's breathless and a little flushed. 

"Yeah," Nick says, and then he holds his arms out. "Up," he says. "If you're going to suck me off, it's going to be somewhere there's fucking carpet."

Louis eyes him for a moment, and then wets his lips and, as instructed for once, jumps into Nick's arms. Nick catches him easily, grateful that as he got older he started working out to keep his figure. Louis's legs go around his waist and Nick catches him under the bum. Their mouths slick together, Louis tongue pressing in. He's flushed and needy and turned on, Nick can tell, teenage sex drive all wound up. Nick pinches his arse and smiles into Louis's little yelp.

"Hold on," he murmurs, and Louis grips him tight. Nick carries him into the living room, stopping every few seconds to let the wall take Louis's weight so he can kiss him, and kiss him, and kiss him again until he's breathless and panting against Nick's neck, all but keening in his arms. Nick wants to mark him up, wants to suck bruises into his skin so that everyone knows that Louis is taken, and his. 

He lets Louis's feet drop to the floor once they're in his living room. Nick's phone is plugged into the surround sound, Phantamogram pulsing through the speakers. Louis shoves him gently down to the sofa and Nick opens his legs, stomach clenching with need. Louis sinks down to his knees looking absolutely sinful, mouth wet and kiss-bruised, eyes wide. "You've never had anything like me, old man, I guarantee it."

Nick laughs. "I've seen—and felt—a lot in my time, sweet boy. Let's see what you've got."

Louis's so deliciously naked in front of him, cock so hard, dripping from how turned on he is, and so red it almost looks painful. Louis doesn't touch himself, though, but reaches for Nick, unfastens his jeans and palms Nick through his black boxer-briefs. "God," Louis breathes. "You're. You're _big_."

Nick's chest puffs up with the compliment, unable to help himself. "You suck a lot of cock?" he asks, before he can think better of it.

Louis reddens, and looks a bit awkward. "Some," he says. "Enough."

Nicks going to teach him it all, if he doesn't know it already. He's going to make Louis the best at fucking everything, cock sucking included. He rocks his hips up, just a bit, just enough that his dick bumps into Louis's cheek.

Louis is still stroking his dick through his pants. "You're so big, Daddy," he says, wide eyed, and Nick can't help the way he can't hide his reaction. He suspects Louis can't hide his satisfaction, either. "Want you to come in my mouth," Louis goes on, and Nick slides his hand into Louis's hair, and tilts his chin up.

His breath hitches, and Louis's eyes are heavy lidded, his cheeks beautifully red. He wets his lips and his fingers hook into Nick's briefs and pull them down, until the band rests just under Nick's balls. Louis cups them in one hand, eyes hungry on Nick's dick, swollen and red against his belly. Louis's hand wraps around the base and Nick sucks in a breath as Louis's lips graze over the head, getting it shiny with pre come. 

"Taste good," Louis murmurs, eyes fluttering, eyelashes brushing his against his cheeks. He's gorgeous, and his mouth opens right up, and closes around the head of Nick's cock, and Nick can't even think anymore.

Louis is young, inexperienced, but that just makes Nick even harder, this boy that's all his now, his to train, his to hold, his to cherish. He'll teach Louis everything. He'll happily lay himself down and let Louis learn anything and everything he wants. He's never met anyone like him. He's never had a mouth like this before, either, so eager, so sweet. Louis loves sucking cock and it's obvious. He's getting off on it. Nick can work with this.

"God, you look good," Nick tells him, fingers sliding into Louis's hair. "That's where you're supposed to be, isn't it, little one? On your knees for me." He strokes over Louis's cheek, the obscenity of it beautiful. Louis just keeps on sucking, looking up at Nick from under dark eyelashes. Nick presses his hips up, his dick hitting the back of Louis's throat, and Louis whimpers as he chokes a bit, spit sliding out of the corner of his mouth. He's darling, and Nick's close to the edge, and he's never not in control. He holds off as long as he can do, although with Louis's hand on his balls, cupping them as he sucks him off, and the two days worth of anticipation, Nick still comes faster than he wants to. He comes in Louis's mouth, and then he's pushing Louis back, even as he's coming, and he catches Louis's mouth and his cheek and his hair. He's lovely like this, messy and panting and flushed. Nick sits back on the sofa, and Louis reaches down to cup his own dick, but Nick shakes his head. 

"You come when I say," he says, tugging Louis up. Louis moves eagerly, if a little clumsily, straddling Nick on the couch, trying to wipe the come off his face with the back of his hand. His dick is red and leaking, desperate. He rocks forward, striping his dick over Nick's stomach. 

"You came in my hair," Louis tells him, leaning forward to catch Nick's mouth in a kiss. "My hair, Nick." He sounds breathless and anticipatory, hips rolling up, desperate for purchase. 

"And don't you look pretty," Nick tells him, and Louis whines, tipping forward. 

"I want to come," Louis tells him, dick pushed up against Nick's stomach. "Please, Nick. I want to come. Fuck, you get me so turned on. I want it so badly, please. Please."

"You think I should let you?" Nick asks, stroking his hand down Louis's back, holding him in place. He'd expected Louis's skin to be soft and smooth, but it's curiously bumpy beneath his fingertips, like little raised veins across his skin. Odd. He slides his hand down so he can cup Louis's bum, and squeezes. "You think you deserve to come?"

"Christ," Louis says, hiding his face in Nick's throat. "Please. I sucked you off. I'll do anything."

"Anything, huh?" Nick asks. He tries to sound casual, but inside his heart is racing. 

"Please," Louis says again, voice rough and small against Nick's neck. He presses a line of kisses there, hot suction just underneath Nick's jaw and Nick's breath hitches. "Mine," Louis murmurs, breathy. "Mine."

"God," Nick swears, palming Louis's arse a little roughly. He slides his hand around to Louis's stomach, tracing the silver-white line of the scar he has there on his hip down into soft curls and then gets a fist around him. He's thick and so hot in Nick's hand, tip blurting out pre come, dripping and wet with it. "Tell me when you're close."

He gets maybe two strokes in before Louis's lifting his head, gripping Nick's hair hard enough to sting. "Nick… I'm—"

Nick stops at once, takes his hand away and Louis lets out a grumpy, frustrated sound and rocks his hips forward, rutting against Nick's belly, messing his shirt. 

"Shhh," Nick soothes, stroking his back, fingering over a few of the bumpy bits, curious. Acne, perhaps? "Will be good, love, I promise."

Louis lets out a shuddery breath and kisses him, slow and sloppy, sticky hands on Nick's face. 

Nick does it a few more times, gets Louis right up to the edge again and again and then stops, until Louis's eyes are wet and he's breathing in dry little sobs, curled in on himself. "Please," he moans, slurred. "Please, Nick, please, please, let me—"

"Doing so well for me, baby," Nick tells him, kissing his temple.

"Please," Louis says again, snuffling against Nick's neck, and Nick can't bear not to see his face any longer. He swats Louis lightly on the arse to get him to lift up a bit, and then easily manoeuvres him onto his back, stretched out long across the sofa, one foot flat on the floor. Nick hitches the other up over his shoulder, so Louis's all spread out, face blotchy and red, little nipples hard where Louis's been playing with himself, dick so hard and leaking against Louis's belly. Nick cups Louis's balls, leans in to kiss Louis. 

"You can come this time, little one," he says. "Whenever you want."

He gets a hand around the base of Louis's cock and strokes him roughly, hard and fast, lets Louis fuck up into his fist and puts just the lightest pressure on his balls, his thumb just snubbing against Louis's hole, and Louis comes with a cry. He built it up so much, and it lasts for so long, his body just wracked with it, his fingernails digging into Nick's back through his shirt, hips fucking up into open air as it washes through him. He comes so much it's sliding off his stomach a bit, round to his back, is probably going to be on Nick's sofa. It leaves him breathless, boneless, leg sliding off Nick's shoulder. 

It's so hot Nick's wants to curl up and die.

"Evil," Louis croaks after a few minutes of catching his breath. Nick sits back to see him fully, appreciate the full view of him, splayed out and covered in come. "You're actually evil."

Nick shakes his head, smiling, awed. "God, Louis, you just. You're 19, shouldn't have been able to hold it so long, how did you even stop yourself?"

Louis blinks up at him, looking sleepy and confused. "You told me not to," Louis says, like it's just that easy. Nick's whole body throbs. Louis was just made for this. Made for him. Nick can't believe he's gone so long without him.

"You're incredible," Nick tells him, too honest for his own good. Louis flushes and nudges Nick with his foot.

"Whatever. I'm hungry. Are you going to feed me or what?"

"Gosh," Nick says. "To be young again. Give me a minute, love, not all of us are ready to move just yet."

Louis nudges Nick with his foot again. "I'm hungry," he says. "Get up and cook for me. Come on."

"Oi," Nick wraps his hand around Louis's ankle. "That's the way to get a spanking, little one."

Louis flushes. There's a bright spark of something in Louis's eyes that Nick can't quite read. He's normally quite good at reading things like this, and part of him quite likes that there's more to Louis than meets the eye. He just can't quite figure out _what_. 

"Just sit here, nice and quiet, for a couple of minutes, all right?"

"Just because you're old," Louis says, poking Nick with his toes. He's sprawled across Nick's sofa like he owns the place, dick slowly softening, come drying across the curve of his tummy. Nick runs a hand up Louis's thigh, up to the scar on his hip. 

"Shaving accident?" he asks, drawing a fingertip down from hip to where the scar disappears into Louis's pubes. 

"Something like that," Louis says. "Blades are dangerous."

There's something in his voice that Nick can't place, a lightness that doesn't belong. It's odd. Nick strokes his hand down over Louis's thigh again, nails to his skin, barely a scratch. "Want to do so much to you, love. Going to make you come so much."

Louis bumps his toes into Nick's thigh again. Even his feet are lovely, and Nick most definitely isn't a feet kind of a man. Nick runs his fingers over the arch of Louis's foot. 

"You're a terribly filthy old man," Louis says. He sounds delighted. "Come on, feed me. Feed me." He drags out the _feeeeeeeeed_ far too long. "I'm hungry. Aren't you supposed to be my sugar daddy? I demand food."

Nick grins, and lets go of Louis's foot so he can shift up onto his knees, crawling over Louis and pinning him to the sofa. "Sugar daddy, huh? That what you like?"

Louis's eyes are bright. "Absolutely," he says. "I want to be a kept boy, Daddy. I want two Lamborghinis and a Ford GT just for going to the shops. Fuck that, actually. I want a Bugatti Veyron."

"You're a menace, that's what you are." Louis beams up at him. "You want to be my kept boy?" Nick can feel his dick starting to fatten up again, even though he's nearer to forty than thirty five, and his recovery rate isn't usually this quick. Maybe it's just Louis. "That what you want?"

"Depends what you're keeping me for," Louis says. "Do you want me to call you Daddy?"

Nick's dick is really getting hard again now. He holds himself up over Louis, refusing to give in and show Louis how turned on he is. "Only if you want to, love."

Louis wriggles underneath him, dick hard again. "Is that an option?" he asks. 

Nick shrugs. "It is if you want it to be, little one."

Louis squirms a bit more, opening his legs up wider. He hooks one of them over Nick's hip, and digs his heel into Nick's arse. "It's pretty hot, innit?" he says, touching his fingertips to Nick's face. Nick turns his head to kiss his palm. "You're going out of your way not to answer properly, though. Do you like it?"

"Like what, darling?" 

Louis makes an exasperated sound and lifts his head to catch Nick's lips and Nick laughs into his mouth, pressing his tongue inside. They kiss for ages, Nick still partly dressed but with his dick out, rubbing up against Louis's hip with no real intention to get off. Louis makes the best sounds, clearly trying to bite them back (Nick wants to hear him, though, and wants to teach him how much better it is to be noisy and messy). His small hands stay tangled up in Nick's hair and his mouth stays open and wet and willing. He's pliant under Nick's body, spread open for him, dick wet against Nick's thigh. He's so fucking lovely. Nick bites Louis's bottom lip, laps away the sting when Louis whimpers and then kisses down his jaw to his long, pretty neck. He closes his mouth over Louis's pulse point and reaches between him and the sofa to grip his bum, pull him in closer. Louis's already close. His fingers crawl down Nick's back and dig in, head tilting to give Nick better access.

"D-Daddy," he breathes, and Nick's hips ratchet forward almost involuntarily. It's so hot the way he says it, choked and rough with want. "Daddy, wanna come. Aren't you gonna make me come?"

"Fuck," Nick murmurs. Louis's got a nice bruise on his neck darkening up. Nick tongues over it one more time and lifts his head to see Louis's flushed face. Louis's hair is sticking to his forehead and cheek, his eyes closed, face screwed up in pleasure. Nick kisses his slack mouth. "Yeah, baby, you want to come for Daddy?"

"Shit," Louis gasps, and comes just like that all over Nick's shirt, slicking up between them, cock hardly touched. His whole body jerks with it, clenches up tight, eyes rolling back in his head. "Shit, Nick, Daddy, Nick," he babbles, all fucked out. Nick holds him through it, cradles Louis's head in his hand when Louis hides his face in Nick's neck. Nick kisses his shoulder, strokes his hair, cock throbbing between them. He wants to come but he wants Louis's mouth again, or maybe to flip him over and rut against his arse, get him messy with Nick's come.

"Hush, Louis, you did so good, so lovely for me, little one," Nick tells him. Louis trembles in his grip for a while, and then goes slack all at once, dropping back onto the sofa. Nick looks down at him with an raised eyebrow, smoothing Louis's sweaty hair back off his forehead. Louis blinks up at him sleepily, mouth red. 

"Mmm," he says.

"You're a mess," says Nick.

"You've made me a mess," Louis says, voice lazy and a little slow. He strokes a finger down Nick's arm. "Daddy."

Nick steals Louis's hand, bringing it to his mouth to kiss Louis's knuckles and his blunt fingernails. Louis flushes, but doesn't make any kind of move to pull away. 

"You hungry now?" Nick asks. He's hard, but he likes drawing it out. He can wait until after dinner for them to have another go. 

"I'm always hungry," Louis says, and he raises himself up onto his elbows, come all over his stomach. He's such a beautiful mess. He's lovely. 

This is going to get out of hand very quickly indeed. 

"Dinner, then?" Nick asks. He likes the idea of cooking for Louis, of giving him fine wine and a dinner he's whipped up from scratch, a carbonara recipe he's perfected with a few years of practice. 

"Yes," Louis says, "but you'd better lend me a shirt. Only a div would turn up to dinner not wearing a shirt."

Nick smacks Louis's thigh, barely hard enough to sting. "Down the hall," he says. "Top of the stairs, first door on the left. Pick a shirt." It's his walk-in wardrobe. He wants to show off, show Louis just how rich and important and brilliant he is. 

Louis doesn't get up. He pokes his fingers into Nick's thigh instead. "Up you get," he says. "Go and cook for me. Honestly, you can't get the staff these days."

"Cheeky," Nick says, but he makes a big show of going back into the kitchen to put the carbonara ingredients together. 

Louis comes back into the kitchen five minutes later, wearing one of Nick's dress shirts. It hangs down to the middle of Louis's thighs, and is too big across the shoulders. He's only buttoned it up to mid-chest, and the rest falls off one shoulder. It's deliciously, decadently sexual, and it's entirely possible Nick could fall very hard, very fast for this boy. This gorgeous, ridiculous boy. 

"Your wardrobe is obscene," Louis declares. He's holding a picture frame. "It's bigger than my house."

"What have you got there?" Nick asks. 

"Found it in the loo," Louis says, hopping up onto the counter again. He turns the picture frame around; it's Nick's _Bachelor of the Year_ front cover from last year, only Louis has scrawled a massive _Ex_ \- across the glass in something that desperately resembles lipstick. "I've updated it for you."

"Gosh," Nick says, in quiet admiration. "You're terrible."

"Why do you have lipstick, anyway? Are you secretly into ladies? Am I just a front?"

"This is a big house," Nick says mildly, poking at the spaghetti pan. "I can't even begin to explain half the things I own." He pushes the bottle of wine down towards where Louis is sitting, bare-arsed, on the worktop. He'd better leave a note for his housekeeper to give that a good wipe down. "Open that, will you? Glasses are over there, corkscrew's in there."

Louis makes a very big show of rolling his eyes and sighing loudly. He props the _Ex-Bachelor of the Year_ award up against the utensil jar and goes to get the corkscrew. 

Louis's clothes are in a neat stack on a chair in the corner where Nick put them. Nick might burn them later. In fact Louis probably doesn't need to wear anything but Nick's clothes ever again. Nick shimmies the bacon he's frying in a pan and listens to Louis digging around in his drawers. He's nosy as hell, which Nick would usually find annoying, but Nick's quite sure that were he ever in Louis's bedroom he'd go through all of his things too, and learn everything about him that he can.

"How drunk would you like to get?" Louis asks, getting glasses down from the rack.

"Depends," Nick answers, digging around in the cabinet for a colander. "Are we driving again this evening?"

The cork pulls free of the wine with a hollow thwap. "Is that you asking me to stay the night?"

"Only if you want, sweetheart."

"That's not very convincing, Nicholas."

Nick laughs, standing up again, setting the colander in the sink, ready for him to drain the spaghetti. "My bed would love to have you," he says.

"Try again," Louis sing-songs, filling their glasses generously. He takes a sip of his, makes a pleased sound and pours a bit more into his glass. 

" _I_ would love to have you," Nick concedes. He takes the glass Louis hands him. Louis is smiling, his hair sticking up all over the place, Nick's come still tacky in one side. Nick's eyes trail down over the mark he left on Louis's neck and his bared shoulder. He's got a scar there, too, rough and raised like a welt. It's faded with age, though. Maybe Louis was a particularly accident-prone child.

"I suppose I'll stay, then. So long as you don't mind sleeping on the sofa."

"I have several spare bedrooms."

"I was kidding, dickhead," Louis says dryly.

Louis takes the opportunity to slap him on the arse. Nick almost spills his wine. Louis's cheeks turn a delicious shade of pink. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Daddy," Louis says, obnoxious. Still hot. Nick adjusts himself in his trousers discreetly.

Dinner is fantastic. Louis has three glasses of wine and second helpings of Nick's incredible carbonara. After, Louis blows out the candles Nick lit at the dining room table and stands up, wine glass in hand, and wanders around to Nick's side of the table. Nick backs his chair up just in time for Louis to drop into his lap, arm around Nick's neck.

"I'm drunk," Louis says. "That was really good. Passable, anyway. You could be a chef, maybe, if this whole fashion and business empire thing doesn't work out for you. Harry could get you a job at the caff."

"Thanks, pet, but I think I'll be all right."

Louis blows a raspberry, then dissolves into laughter. Nick rubs his hand up Louis's back through his shirt, digs his fingers in under Louis's arm to make him squirm, ticklish. Louis hums thoughtfully and pushes his fingers through Nick's hair, soothing, impossibly sweet. "What are you gonna do with me now?"

"Was thinking it might be time to clean you up. Fancy a shower?"

"Can I suck you off again?"

Nick shivers, leaning into Louis's hand. "Absolutely."

Louis makes a pleased sound in his throat and stands up, swaying just a bit. Nick accepts the wine glass Louis hands him. "Lead the way?"

"I'm just going to tidy up a bit," Nick says, amused. "Go on and get in yourself. Upstairs and to the left, very last door down the second hallway."

"Second hallway," Louis repeats airily. Nick smirks, feeling decidedly wolfish and a little drunk himself as he watches Louis swan away, yelping when he trips over his own feet.

Nick doesn't do much tidying. His housekeeper will be in in the morning, so he puts their dishes by the sink, takes Puppy out for a quick stroll and once she's happily digging in to her own dinner, joins Louis upstairs.

He strips down in the main room, tosses his clothes into the washing basket to be cleaned, and walks into the en-suite, which is thick with steam. Louis is singing a Kelly Clarkson song. He jumps a little when Nick opens the shower door, and steps in. Louis looks incredible, water running in rivulets down his olive skin, drops in his eyelashes, hair sticking up all over the place with shampoo. He looks up at Nick with a sweet, slightly-tipsy smile and rocks up onto his toes to kiss him.

"Hiya," he says.

"Hiya," Nick replies. He kisses Louis's temple and cheek, his jaw and his mouth and his shoulder, guiding him back under the spray. "Eyes closed, mm? Face the other way."

Louis does as he's told and Nick goes about rinsing the shampoo out for him, adding in a scalp massage just to be safe. He's singing along with Louis's rousing rendition of _I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor_ when his eyes glance down to watch the soap slide down Louis's back and his gaze catches. His heart lurches. He pushes the back of Louis's hair up out of the way. He was expecting spots, at most, to explain the little bumps over Louis's back. Not scars.

Under the fluorescent lighting in the bathroom they're stark, silver-white and scattered from the tops of his shoulders down to the back of his thighs. There's a lot of them, some darker than others, some bigger, most very small and one huge, jagged ugly mess of scar tissue down by his hip, just above the swell of his arse, clearly leading around to the one Nick teased him about earlier.

"Nick?" Louis asks, tilting his head back curiously. It draws Nick out of his stupor long enough to get his hands moving in Louis's hair again. He can't think of what to say. His mouth is dry. What happened? Was he in some sort of accident? A car crash, maybe? Did he go backwards through a windscreen? 

He strokes over one of them with his thumb once all the shampoo has been rinsed out. Louis goes very still, back rising with a slow, deep breath. Nick tucks an arm around his waist. "Shaving accident?" he asks, and Louis laughs, covering Nick's hand with his own. It's a little higher pitched than normal. 

"Don't you want me to keep my mystery, Nicholas?"

Nick very slowly strokes his fingers over Louis's hip. Louis is trembling, just a little, just enough to know that this is one of those moments that Nick needs to take a great deal of care over. 

"I'm not going to make you tell me anything you don't want to, sweetheart," Nick says, as carefully as he can. He reaches behind Louis and turns the shower off. It's a multi-headed power shower, a full shower experience, and not the best environment for having any kind of conversation in, let alone one which explains the way something—or someone—has done their level best to take Louis to pieces. There's something burning in his stomach; a dark, desperate fury that Louis has been so, so hurt. 

"Do you want me to go?" Louis asks. He's fiercely rigid in Nick's arms, but Nick can't bear to look away from the mess of scars that criss-cross Louis's back. He runs his fingertips over the ridges of Louis's spine. 

"No, love," Nick says. "You beautiful, beautiful thing, you."

Louis trembles. "Please don't make me tell," he says. "Can't you just believe it's a shaving accident?"

Nick leans in and presses his mouth to the back of Louis's neck. Water drips down from his hair, droplets sliding down over Louis's skin. He kisses him again, keeping his mouth to Louis's skin, until Louis lets out a ragged breath and lets his head tip forward. "I'm not going to believe it's a shaving accident," he says, hooking an arm around Louis's waist, "but I'm not going to force you to tell me, either. Not until you want to." He needs to know. Not knowing is already starting to tear a fearful-type hole in his chest. He forces himself to stay very, very still indeed. 

"It was a long time ago," Louis says, trembling in Nick's arms. "Can't you just pretend they're not there?"

Nick kisses him again, each knob of his spine, sliding further and further down until he's on his knees in the shower. He parts Louis's cheeks until his hole is just there, pink and pretty. He strokes his fingertip over it, and Louis whimpers above him, reaching back blindly for Nick's hand. He squeezes, hard. 

"I'm fine," he says. "Can't you believe that? Please don't treat me different because of—because—" he stops, abruptly. 

There are scars after scars after scars, tiny raised, pale lines that criss-cross his skin. If it was a someone, and not a something, that did this to Louis, Nick is going to find them, and he's going to make sure they never, ever come near Louis again. He feels like a bear, protecting his cub. It's the oddest, most desperate feeling he can ever remember feeling. 

"Let me lick you out," Nick says, pad of his thumb pressed to Louis's pink hole. 

"Nick," Louis says, weakly. He clutches at Nick's hand and Nick kisses his palm, kisses the ugly scar over his hip. "Please, yeah."

"You're beautiful," Nick tells him firmly. "You're fucking gorgeous, and so bloody sexy, love, you've got no idea."

Louis lets out a little laugh that sounds like it hurts, and braces his hands on the shower seat built into the wall. He's bent right over. "You're mad, you know that?" 

"Just for you," Nick rasps, like his heart isn't cracking a bit inside. He's known Louis for just a few months, and he's been full of spark and full of shit and full of enigma since the moment Nick first saw him, but he never expected anything like this. Judging by Louis's reaction, it wasn't a car crash. He thumbs over Louis's hole again and Louis shivers, pushes back into a bit. Nick presses his lips to Louis's arse, gets both hands on him to hold him open. "Can I?" he asks again, just to be sure.

"Yeah," Louis breathes.

Nick wants to take him apart, wants to take him out of his head. He licks a line from the base of Louis's spine down to his balls, back up to Louis's hole. He rims him for ages, barely putting any pressure on at all until Louis is gasping for breath, trying to shove his arse back into Nick's face, desperate for it. Nick waits until he hears Louis's breath hitch to finally, finally lick him out properly, reaching around to get a hand around Louis's hard cock just as he breaches his hole with the tip of his tongue.

Louis keens, nails digging into the tile, little shuddering sobs breaking out of him. He moves his legs even further apart. His whole body is trembling, his toes curling where he stands. Nick fucks his tongue into him as deep as he can, pulls out to press a hot kiss right at the rim, and then shoves back in again.

Louis is loud now, crying out, sobbing Nick's name as Nick expertly manages to lick into him and move his hand on Louis's cock all at the same time. Louis is pressing forward and pushing back, and his bum is just lovely; everything about him is lovely, and Nick wants to learn how to take him apart, piece by piece, and put him together again, stronger. He fucks his tongue into him again, insistent and true, fist wrapped around the crown of Louis's dick. Spit slides out of Louis as Nick presses kiss after kiss to his wet, puckered pink hole, cupping Louis's balls with his other hand. Louis's legs are far enough apart and he's bent over enough that Nick can lick down to meet his hand on Louis's dick, tongue pressed to the underside of the head. 

Louis sobs out Nick's name as he begs to come, begs him for release, and Nick doesn't tell him he can, just turns him around enough that he can get his mouth on Louis's dick, sucking at him until Louis starts to come. He comes with ragged, desperate breaths, and Nick swallows it down, as much of it as he's able, and then he pulls back, pressing his mouth to Louis's thigh, shifting back until he can lick at one of the pale pink scars—more faded than the ones on his back, less ridged—until Louis stops keening. He rests his cheek against the tile, panting, and Nick stands up on shaky legs to wrap an arm around Louis's waist, holding him up. 

"Daddy," Louis says, through the breathless, almost-sobs. "Nick, god."

Nick kisses the back of his neck again, his ear, his cheek. "Beautiful," he says, softly. "You're so, so beautiful."

Louis turns in his arms, head down, hiding his face and Nick feels like he's accidentally unmasked Louis so thoroughly in the last fifteen minutes that he won't force him to look up. He lets Louis hide against him for as long as he likes, trembling, mouth pressed to Nick's neck while Nick rubs his back. After a few minutes, Louis fumbles behind him to turn the shower on again. It comes to life, running freezing cold for a second before it warms up. Nick jumps, and makes a little unhappy sound as goosebumps rise over his skin. Louis pulls back to look at him, finally, and he's laughing at Nick but the expression on his face is just pleading Nick not to say anything, to let it go. It's killing him not knowing. He has so many questions. Louis was hurt. _His_ Louis was hurt.

Louis tucks himself in close and presses his thigh between Nick's legs, smiling when Nick groans and kisses him, careful and wet, pushing his fingers into Louis's hair. Louis lets it go on for ages, but Nick's mind is wandering and he can't keep his fingers from tracing the scars on Louis's back. He can't stop thinking about it. After a while Louis pulls away, kisses the tip of Nick's nose and his cheek, just in front of his ear. The shower is so loud, but Louis's voice is clear, lips touching Nick's ear like this.

"I'm okay," he promises. "I promise, I'm okay. It was a long time ago. Ages."

Nick takes a slow breath and wraps both arms around him, holding him tight. "I don't think differently of you," he tells Louis. "I swear I don't. I just…let me be careful with you tonight, yeah?"

"You don't need to be," Louis says.

"I know," Nick says, kissing Louis's shoulder. "I know you don't need me to. I just. I might need to, y'know? Just for tonight."

"Let me wash your hair," Louis asks, after a long moment where he stays very still in Nick's arms. 

Nick nods his yes, and Louis pours a handful of Nick's ridiculously expensive shampoo into his palm, standing up on his toes to massage it into Nick's scalp. It's been a very, very long time since anyone washed Nick's hair like this. He lets Louis take care of him, just for a while, and he knows why Louis's doing it, can understand that Louis wants a chance to be in control too. He stays quiet whilst Louis lets the shampoo wash away, and then waits whilst he conditions it too. He takes over then, washing away all of the day's mess with heavily scented, very expensive shower gel. 

And afterwards, when they're clean and the shower's off, Nick bundles him up in a bath towel as tall as Louis is, and lets Louis pretend to headbutt him. 

"You're terrible," Louis says, without looking up at him. "I don't know why anyone likes you at all."

"It's the huge house in Hampstead," Nick agrees. "I can't find anyone who wants to be my friend at all."

Louis bumps his hip into Nick's. "You still want me to stay the night?"

"Yeah," Nick says. "How do you fancy dessert in bed?"

"So long as there's hot chocolate," Louis says, losing himself in his towel, pulling it over his head to rub at his hair. It's the least co-ordinated move Nick's seen him make yet. He reaches for Louis's hand, tugging him close. He cups Louis's cheek in his hand, and leans in to press his mouth to Louis's. 

"Hot chocolate, check," he says. "Dessert, check. Anything else?"

"Can we just—" Louis stops, and looks a little apologetic. "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine. But can we just, I don't know, sit up in bed and watch a film?"

"That sounds perfect," says Nick. He touches his lips to Louis's hair and then lets him go, dropping his own towel and pulling on his ridiculously expensive, ridiculously luxurious dressing gown. "If you'd like to wear something to sleep in, there are boxers and t-shirts in the wardrobe."

"I sleep naked," says Louis easily, shrugging out of his towel. He hangs it to dry on its hook and wanders, bare-arsed and lovely, into the bedroom. He follows Nick back downstairs and into the kitchen, and Nick watches him unabashedly walk around the kitchen all bare and lovely.

"D'you want a hot chocolate?" Louis asks, poking at Nick's industrial coffee maker curiously.

"Ta, love. Make it Irish."

"Mm," says Louis, still poking.

Nick has the remains of a lovely raspberry cheesecake in his fridge that his chef made specifically for him only a couple of days ago, in celebration of a big contract signing at work. Nick pulls it out of the fridge and cuts two slices, putting them neatly onto plates. He jumps when his arse is suddenly pinched and turns to look at Louis over his shoulder.

"Pest," he says.

"Why are you dressed?"

"I don't much fancy stainless steel on my bits," Nick explains, gesturing to the dishwasher he's currently standing in front of. Louis frowns thoughtfully and nudges him out of the way, pushing his hips in.

"I kinda like it."

"You would," says Nick. He slides his hand over Louis's back, down the arch of his spine and to his arse, lets his fingers play at Louis's hole just a bit. Louis sinks his teeth into his bottom lip and leans back against him, cheeks pinking up.

"Don't stop on my account," Louis says, wriggling a little, pressing back against Nick's hand. 

"Greedy boy," Nick says, and he pats Louis on the arse before heading for the drawer where he keeps his ridiculously expensive cake forks. Louis puts the kettle on and leans forward on the counter, bum in the air. Little terror. Nick tries not to think about the criss-crossed scars littering his thighs and his back. His bum is mostly scar free, but none of the scars are as nasty as the jagged one on Louis's front, from his hip down to his pubes. Nick puts a cake fork on each plate, and comes back over to the counter, stroking his hand down over Louis's back. "I know you're fine," he says, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Louis's shoulder. "But is there anything I shouldn't do? Anything."

Louis doesn't look back at him, but he does cover Nick's hand with his own. "No surprises, okay? Don't creep up on me and don't jump out at me. Normal stuff."

None of this is normal, but Nick's willing to let it go. "All right," he says, kissing the back of his neck. "Done."

"Good," Louis says, straightening up and shaking Nick off. "I bet you haven't got normal hot chocolate, have you? I bet you've got something which costs about as much as it would to buy France, and it'll taste just the same as Options. I like Options. They do a wicked hazelnut hot chocolate."

Nick rolls his eyes and opens a cupboard. He comes out with some genuine Italian hand shaved cocoa solids, which someone had brought him as a present last Christmas and he'd never used. Louis doesn't look impressed. He looks disparaging, in fact, like there's something wrong with Nick's high-quality food stock. 

"You'd be better off with Options, mate," Louis says. "That's like a _rock_. I'm not shaving my own cocoa. What's wrong with adding water to powder?"

"Philistine," Nick says, and slides a jar of Whole Foods hot chocolate down the counter. "Try that instead."

"You'd better start keeping the proper stuff in," Louis says, dumping at least double the amount of chocolate powder into each of their mugs. "And I bet your tea's all wrong too."

Nick is really quite delighted with every obnoxious bone in Louis's body. "You could at least try and be impressed," he says. "I'm pulling out all the stops for you."

"Nah," Louis says, pouring water onto both mugs and then filling up the rest of the mugs with pure whisky. It's a good thing Nick doesn't have to be in the office tomorrow. Much. Probably. Peril of being his own boss. Sort of. "You got any squirty cream for that cheese cake?"

"No," Nick says, leaning over and removing the whisky from Louis's grip. "Put that down and stop being a menace. Come upstairs with me and let me feed you cake."

Something softens in Louis's gaze, and he goes up on his tiptoes to kiss the corner of Nick's mouth. "Aren't you just lovely," he says, almost too quickly for Nick to hear, and then he's grabbing the hot chocolate and heading for the stairs, leaving Nick to catch up, cheesecake in hand. 

"Oh, you don't have a telly in here?" Louis asks once they're back upstairs and settled in bed. Nick sniffs, offended.

"Darling, please," he says, and clicks a button on a small remote he pulls from the bedside table drawer that has the TV rising out the chest at the end of the bed, a 52 inch LED flatscreen that Nick had installed only a few months ago. Louis's trying to hide a smile but it's not working. He wets his lips and nudges Nick in the stomach with his elbow.

"Show off," he says, and takes a bite of his cheesecake. Nick smirks and leans in to kiss his closed mouth.

"Haven't we established that, already? What shall we watch?"

They scroll through the choices Nick has on his list on Netflix and decide on North by Northwest, because Louis's never seen it and it's been years since Nick has. "I love Cary Grant," Louis admits. "So like, suave and funny, y'know? Quick. In control. I like that."

"You're not so bad yourself, love," Nick offers. His cheesecake is delicious, but he's mostly watching Louis's mouth close around his fork over and over again, unconsciously sexy as he eats. When Louis notices he pulls a silly face. Nick pulls one back.

They make it through both pieces of cheesecake and the hot chocolate, forty minutes into the film. It's dark except for the TV, blue light washing over the bed. Nick puts the dishes onto the bedside table, and as soon as he settles back down, Louis crawls into his lap, facing him. Nick hums, pleased, and rubs his hands down Louis's sides, digging his fingers into Louis's bum.

"You didn't come earlier," Louis tells him, tilting his head a bit. "Downstairs. Or, or in the shower."

"Did I not?" Nick asks. "Must've slipped my mind."

Louis snorts, nosing along Nick's cheek. "I'm sure it did."

"We're watching a film," Nick says, trying to look over Louis's shoulder. 

Louis reaches for the remote, locates the power button, and holds it over his shoulder to turn the TV off without turning around. "Fuck the film," he says. "Anyway, call that a telly? Where's the fuck off huge surround sound stereo system? You're not getting the full cinema experience in here, Nicholas. You've let me down."

Nick presses a button on the bedside table and speakers unfold themselves from various points in the room. "You were saying?"

"Oh my god," Louis says. "Do you still go to the toilet, or do you have someone who just comes round to do it for you? This is fucking ridiculous. What else have you got in here? If I said that a bedroom wasn't complete without a giant, light-up deer that popped out of the headboard, have you got a button for that, too?"

"I could arrange it," Nick says, a little lazily. He runs his hands up Louis's sides instead, pausing to run his thumbs over Louis's little pink nipples. 

"Stop that," Louis says, slapping his hand away. "I'm too busy to have sex now, you've missed your opportunity."

Nick ignores him, sliding his hands into the small of Louis's back, leaning in to mouth at his throat, nipping gently at his shoulder with his teeth. 

"Now you're just trying to distract me from your enormous wealth with your penis, and I won't have it," Louis goes on, head tipping back. He sneaks his hand into Nick's hair. "I am unmoved."

Louis's dick is pressing up against Nick's stomach, fattening up even as Nick slides a hand down to wrap around him. "Unmoved," he says, his thumb to Louis's slit. 

"Unmoved," Louis agrees. "Do you want me to blow you? I could blow you."

"I'm sure you could, little one," Nick agrees, but he doesn't take his hand away from Louis's dick. God, he's so lovely. 

"You could fuck me, even," Louis goes on. "Any way you wanted."

"Oh?" Nick murmurs, ducking his head to tongue over one of Louis's nipples, hard now under his tongue. Louis shivers and tugs on Nick's hair bossily, cock getting wet at the tip. Nick smears it down, drawing the foreskin back for better access to the head just as sinks his teeth lightly into Louis's nipple. Louis makes a quiet, turned on sound. "That what you want?"

"You keep doing that," Louis complains. Nick's hand sweeps down his back, over the bumps of his scars.

"Doing what?"

"Asking leading questions," Louis says. He tugs on Nick's hair until Nick lifts his head and then snares his mouth, pressing his tongue inside. Nick lets him, leaning back to recline into the pillows, wanting Louis too badly to be anything but teasing. Louis's panting for breath when he pulls back and Nick's lips are tingling, chapped. "Why don't you tell me what _you_ want for once, huh?"

Nick grazes his lips over Louis's jaw, threads his fingers through Louis's hair and pulls sharply. It's a test, an inquiry, really, and Louis responds beautifully, his cheeks flushing red, hot little gasp rushing past his lips, dick twitching in Nick's grip. Nick swallows hard, pressing a line of kisses down Louis's neck. "Might scare you away if I do that."

Louis laughs breathlessly. "Just how kinky are you?"

"Oh, little one, you have no idea."

"Really?" Louis splays his fingers across Nick's jaw, tilting his chin up so that he can slant their mouths together. "I think I like the sound of that."

"Thought you might," Nick says. 

"You want to give me a clue what you're in to?"

"Not really," Nick says. He likes it when Louis doesn't have all the cards. 

Louis growls a little, gruff like a teddy bear. "You're the most frustrating person in the world," he says. "Why won't you just tell me how I can make you come?"

Nick takes the opportunity to flip Louis onto his back, crawling over him and taking hold of his wrists. He holds them up above Louis's head.

"Kinky," Louis says, but his eyes are bright. He pushes against Nick's grip, just a little. "What's next? You want me to call you Daddy?"

Nick fails at hiding the way his dick jumps at that. Menace. "If you ask me nicely, you can," he says. 

Louis has a decidedly evil smile on his face. He opens his legs right up, tugging against Nick's grip on his wrists. Nick transfers both to one hand so he can reach for the remote and flick the full overhead lights on to see him properly. He's flushed, fat cock leaking on the little swell of his belly, thighs spread out wide. Nick wets his lips and slides his hand along the inside of one of them, dipping down to swallow the little gasp Louis lets out.

"Daddy," Louis whispers, and where he was teasing before he's a bit shy now, unsure, embarrassed. His eyes are bright, sweat already dampening his hair. "Daddy?"

Nick bites back a moan. He feels like he's been holding it in for days and days, even though he came just a few hours ago. He lets go of Louis's wrists and Louis wraps his arms around his neck. Nick slides an arm behind his back, bracing him so Louis can lift up, hug him properly, so small and lovely against Nick. 

"Yeah, baby," Nick murmurs, kissing Louis's neck over and over, sucking a bruise into the juncture between neck and shoulder. "Daddy's here."

Louis's breath hitches and he lets out on a low moan that vibrates through both of them. He's just as into this as Nick is, and Nick can't believe he found him. What kind of good Karma did he have stocked away to deserve this? Louis nips at Nick's earlobe, tongues to soothe the sting, and then pulls back, lies down again, hands on Nick's shoulders. Nick rubs at one of his nipples, pinching so Louis's face screws up in pleasure. Louis's voice is strained and small. "Will you. Will you show me how, Daddy? Show me how you like it? I want to make you come."

Shit. Shit God fuck this is too good, Louis looking up at him all wide-eyed innocence, naked and willing to play in Nick's bed.

Nick really can't believe his luck. He strokes his hand through Louis's hair, smoothing it away from his forehead. "Love," he says softly, leaning in to kiss the corner of Louis's mouth. 

"Show me, Daddy," Louis says, voice small. He's all innocence where five minutes ago he was playful and obnoxious. It goes straight to Nick's dick, and Nick kisses the corner of his mouth again. 

"Good boy," he says, and Louis wriggles, eyes bright. He reaches his hand down to where Nick's dick is bumping up against Louis's hip, and hovers over it, uncertain. "Can I touch you, Daddy? Will you show me how?"

Christ, this boy is going to be the death of him. The actual death. "You can touch, little one," he says. "You just—" He laces his fingers into Louis's, Louis's breath hitching as Nick wraps their hands around his dick. "Like this, baby."

"You're so hard," Louis tells him, breathless, his eyes wide. Fuck, he does innocence well. Nick wants to ravish him. It's quite ridiculous. Louis's fingers feel clumsy around Nick's dick. 

"Have you ever done this to yourself, love?" Nick asks. He gently extricates his hand from Louis's, watching as Louis hesitantly moves his hand on Nick's dick. 

Louis bites his lip. "No, Daddy. Isn't it naughty?"

Nick is going to buy Louis _everything_ if Louis can keep this up. He's going to buy him the fucking moon. "Not if you ask Daddy first," he says. "Only if you play with yourself without asking first."

"Okay, Daddy," Louis says. "Am I making you feel nice?"

 _Nice_. Nick doesn't know how to describe what it feels like to have Louis's clumsy hand on his dick, but _nice_ doesn't come close. Fuck. 

"Yeah, baby, you're making me feel so good," Nick bites out, voice low and deep. Louis palms over the head inexpertly, eyebrows furrowed, looking between them to watch himself touching Nick. It's so hot, and Nick's so hard. He takes Louis's other hand and guides it further back between his legs, until Louis's cupping his balls. Nick groans, rocking a bit into his clumsy fist. 

"Heavy," Louis murmurs, rolling Nick's balls in his hand. "Are you gonna get me all messy?"

"Shit," Nick breathes. He dips down to catch Louis's mouth in a kiss once, twice and again, slipping his tongue inside, sweeping it along the backs of his top teeth. Louis's hand grips at the base of him, sweeps up to the head again, his other pulling so gently on Nick's balls and Nick's not going to last anywhere near as long as he'd like to. He'd like to make Louis come again and again, wants to fuck into him, wants to fuck into him bare and come inside him and fill him up. But none of that should happen for the first time while Louis's calling him Daddy. "Yeah, babe, gonna get you all messy, that what you want?"

"Yes," Louis breathes. He wanks Nick faster, coaxing Nick's tongue back into his mouth, letting go of his balls to get up on his elbow and latch onto one of Nick's nipples, teeth digging into the hard nub. His index finger swipes over the slit and Nick can feel it all building up, his orgasm rushing toward him. Louis moans roughly against his chest. "Please, Daddy, do it, I want it, do it, get me all messy, want you to feel good, want you to, please, please."

"Close, little one," Nick gasps, and when Louis lets out one last, pleading _Daddy_ , Nick loses it, orgasm crashing through him so hard he can hardly bear it. He wrenches his eyes open to watch his come splash all over Louis's hard cock and his balls and the inside of his thigh and his pubic hair, fucking into Louis's fist through the waves. It feels like it lasts forever, and not long enough, pleasure spiralling tight and hard and then dispersing. He's panting in the wake of it.

"God," Louis says, "God, that was so fucking hot. Jesus Christ, Nick, you—"

Nick shuts him up with a kiss, on his mouth and then his chin and then his jaw, down his neck to lave his tongue over the hollow of his throat. As he works his way down Louis's torso, rubbing his come into Louis's cock and balls like it'll absorb through his skin as he goes, Louis covers his face with both hands, bright red. He cries out when Nick buries his face between his legs and swallows him down all in one go.

Louis keeps his face covered even as Nick continues to suck him off. He's breathless and panting behind his hands, and Nick goes all out, swallowing Louis down, his tongue a constant pressure on the underside of Louis's dick. He palms Louis's balls, strokes his fingers over Louis's jagged, awful scar, and fuck, he's going to be remembering Louis whimpering for a very long time to come. Louis doesn't come quietly, he wriggles and cries out and Nick loves that he never, ever fucking gives in, even as he's breathing out _Daddy_ , and coming, hard, in Nick's mouth. 

Afterwards, Nick lays down next to him on the sheets, and props himself up on an elbow. "How's that for starters?"

Louis looks boneless and fucked. God knows what he's going to look like when Nick actually _does_ fuck him. God, he wants to fuck him. He strokes a hand over Louis's belly instead. 

"You said you were kinky," Louis says. "Fuck."

Nick grins lazily. "It's just the beginning."

"It better had be, else I'm dumping you for someone more exciting." Louis rolls over and slides his knee in-between Nick's. "Daddy, fuck. _Daddy_."

"Yes, little one?" Nick sounds mild, but inside his heart's pounding. He's done a lot in his life, and he's had a lot of sex, and it's not even as if this is the first time he's ever got anyone to call him _Daddy_ , but he's fairly sure this is the only time it's counted. The last time had been more like an awkward joke.

"Fuck," Louis says, succinctly. He cups Nick's face in his hands, darting in for a kiss. "We're doing that again."

"Whenever you want," Nick agrees, drawing Louis into his arms properly. They kiss lazily for a long time, until Nick is sleepy and sated and comfortable and Louis is yawning against Nick's cheek like a sleepy kitten. Nick makes an unhappy noise when Louis pulls away, but he only twists to turn the light off, and then drops down at Nick's side again. The light is still on down the hall, over the staircase, and the remnants of it cast shadows in the doorway. It takes Nick's eyes a moment to adjust, but the moon is bright through the windows, makes Louis's cheekbones look even sharper than normal. He turns onto his side to face him and traces his fingertips over Louis's face, smiling when Louis purses his lips to kiss Nick's palm.

"I think I'll keep you," Nick murmurs, like a secret. Louis's answering smile is so sweet it takes his breath away.

"You say that now," Louis says. "You don't even know me, really. Boyfriend and all that. I'm quite annoying and immature."

"I've spent every morning for the last few months with you," Nick sniffs. "I'm an excellent judge of character. I already _know_ you're annoying and immature."

"Oi!"

Nick laughs and tugs Louis to him when he tries to squirm away. He catches his mouth in a kiss once, then again, and then manhandles him around to face the other way so he can spoon up behind him. He tucks his knees into the backs of Louis's, presses in close against his bum and his back, brushes his lips over the back of his neck and rubs lightly at his belly. 

Louis hums, content, eyelashes an ashy smudge on his cheeks. "I think I'll keep you too," he whispers.

Nick lets Louis lace their fingers together. "Good," Nick says quietly, after a while, and hides his smile in Louis's hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's 37 years old and he thought he'd experienced it all already, but he's seriously _this close_ to being in love with Louis, and that's terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This remains self-indulgent. 
> 
> Thanks to **Ashley** for the beta, and to **pillarboxred** for her support.

~*~

Nick's alarm goes off at six, just like normal, and Louis responds by elbowing him in the stomach. "It's Sunday," he says, without opening his eyes. "Make that go away or I'm breaking up with you."

"Don't do that," Nick says, rolling over and reaching for the off button on his alarm. He doesn't always have it on on the weekends, but he'd forgotten, last night, to check it was off. He wraps his arms around Louis from behind, nuzzling the back of his neck. "Morning."

"Fuck off," Louis says, without opening his eyes. "I'm not a morning person, stop trying to make sense."

Nick kisses his shoulder. "Did you sleep all right?"

Louis makes an odd kind of _hm-hmm_ noise. Nick isn't entirely sure that's a yes, but he'll push that another time. 

"How do you feel about handcuffs?" Nick asks, which isn't a 6AM kind of question, but as it had featured fairly highly in his dream just now, he's sure he can make it relevant if required.

"I feel nothing. It's the middle of the night." Louis shuffles back against him, the delicious curve of his bum pressed up against Nick's dick, which is starting to pay more than a passing interest in the possibility of orgasms. "Shut up. Stop talking, and go back to sleep. I'll tell you I think they're really hot when it's daytime. What's wrong with you. Freak."

Nick kisses the back of Louis's neck. "You're lovely," he says, and Louis shifts in his lap, lacing his fingers into Nick's. 

"This is sleepy time, Daddy," Louis says, but he wriggles back against Nick's dick, pressing as far back as he can. He rocks his hips a little. There's a smile playing on his lips, even though he's got his eyes closed. Teasing. "Little boys need lots of sleep. Go the fuck to sleep, Daddy."

Nick untangles his fingers from Louis's and slides them gently across Louis's tummy, and then - when Louis moves his arm out of the way to give Nick room to touch - down his side, over the rise of his hip and then down to his thigh. Louis's arse is just lovely, and he's like a little furnace pressed all along Nick's front. At Louis's invitation, Nick tickles the inside of his thigh and Louis squirms, lifting his leg away just enough for Nick's cock to slide directly into the cleft of his arse. Nick sighs, lazy pleasure coiling up his spine as he starts to slowly rut his hips forward.

"You're unbelievable," Louis says, but he laces his fingers with Nick's, and he's smiling. "Just going to hump me until you get off?"

"If you like," Nick says, as though it was Louis's idea all along. "May I try something?"

He's very polite. Everyone's always said so. Louis lets out a sleepy grunt, followed by a nod, that Nick takes for affirmation. He's already a bit wet at the tip of his dick, and he smears it down over himself for a bit of slick before easing his cock into the small gap between Louis's thighs. It's tight and hot and filthy, in a good, lazy morning fuck kind of a way. Louis's breath hitches and even though the sun won't rise for another hour or more, Nick can just picture the way Louis's skin is probably flushing, all down his face and neck and chest. The head of his dick bumps into Louis's balls when Nick gives his first, curious thrust and Louis turns his face into his pillow, groaning, and starts to play with his own nipples.

"Pervy old bastard," Louis mutters, tightening his thighs up a bit more. Nick's a little sweaty and his pre-come is getting Louis nice and wet between his thighs. Each thrust sends a spark of pleasure rushing through him. He feels dizzy with it. He closes his eyes and pictures coming all over Louis's incredible bum, getting him good and messy before sending him back to sleep, and he has to sink his teeth into the back of Louis's neck to keep from saying anything embarrassing.

"How do you feel about training, love?" he asks. "As well as handcuffs, how do you feel about training?"

"What?" Louis sounds confused and needy, his voice thick. Nick reaches around his front to get a hand around him and Louis makes an impossibly hot mewling sound into his own arm, where his teeth have sunk into the meat just above his elbow.

"Training," Nick repeats. He's getting a bit carried away. "Like training so you only come when I—when Daddy—tells you too, hm? Training to be my good boy. I can teach you so many things."

"How d'you know I don't already know 'em?"

"Because every boy needs to learn their lessons," Nick says, wrapping his hand around Louis's dick, and squeezing. "And you're not all that quiet, love. You could learn to be so quiet when Daddy asks you to, couldn't you?"

"Christ," Louis says, pinching at his nipple. He presses back against Nick, squeezing his thighs together around Nick's dick. It makes Nick's chest constrict with want. "Do you want me to be quiet?"

Nick nips at Louis's shoulder, and Louis shivers, whimpering. He's biting down on his lip to keep quiet, and that's—that's so hot. The way he's already trying; he hasn't even agreed to it and he's already trying. This boy. This fucking boy. "Sometimes," Nick says. "You'll be so well-trained, little one. Such a good boy for Daddy. I'd be so proud of you. You could be so quiet, and come when Daddy tells you to. Wouldn't that feel good, love? Being so good?"

Louis trembles, pressing back. "Yeah," he says, still chewing on his lip. "Okay. Daddy."

Nick rocks his hips up, his dick so tight and slick between Louis's thighs. He shifts so that the tip of his dick is pressing up behind Louis's balls again, and Louis swallows down a moan, tipping his head back so that he's resting on Nick's shoulder, throat bared. Nick sucks a bruise into Louis's skin, still rutting up against him, his hand loose around Louis's dick. Louis keeps trying to fuck up into his grip, but Nick deliberately doesn't tighten his fist. 

"Daddy, please," Louis begs, and it's so pretty, hearing him beg like this. He's so lovely, and his skin's so warm and sleep-soft, and his cock's so fat in Nick's hand. He's pinching at his nipples, over and over, until they're reddened and flushed and Nick wants to press his mouth to them, nip at them with his teeth, lick them over and over afterwards, until Louis is a pretty, begging mess beneath his tongue, begging for Nick to touch him. 

"Call me that again," Nick says, because it's first thing in the morning and it's easy to come when Louis is as gorgeous and perfect as he is now, whimpering and begging and desperate for more, and trying so hard to be quiet. 

"Daddy," Louis says. "Daddy, please. Please. Touch me."

Nick fucks between Louis's thighs, letting go of Louis's dick entirely. He bats Louis's hand away from his nipple, and rubs at the reddened skin there with his thumb and first finger. Louis chokes back a moan at that, and it goes straight to Nick's dick, trying to keep quiet. 

"We can do so much, sweetheart," Nick says, kissing his throat as he fucks up against him. "You ever thought about collars? Or leashes, god, you on your knees for me. You'd train so well, Lou. You'd be so good. You'd barely need punishing, just treats. Treats for being good, little one. Treats for learning so well. I'd make you look so pretty, love."

"Yes," Louis chokes out. "Please. Pretty, god. Daddy, please. Nick."

Nick keeps Louis's head tipped back by splaying his fingers over Louis's throat. "That's what you'd like, huh? To be pretty for Daddy? What's pretty, huh? Pink, maybe?" Louis whines, breathless. "Oh, yes, baby. Little pink underwear, with a tiny pink bow? Your dick would make such a mess of those, wouldn't it? So needy, love. We could make you smooth all over, if you wanted. You'd be the prettiest boy ever."

"Daddy," Louis says, hips rocking up, and then he's coming, he's coming untouched, all over the bed and the sheets and himself, and Nick can't believe it. "God, Daddy."

Nick wraps a hand around him then, milking the last of Louis's come from his dick, Louis trembling around him and pressing back against him. Nick fucks between his thighs, almost there himself, desperate and needy and trying to hide it. 

"I want that," Louis says, breathing hitched. "Everything you just said. I want all of that."

"Christ," Nick says, rocking his hips up, and then he's pulling back, out from between Louis's thighs, rolling him onto his front. He waits for Louis's nodded _okay_ before straddling him, his hand pressed to the small of Louis's back, pinning him to the bed. He wanks himself off, urgent and close, and when he comes, it's in great stripes over Louis's lovely bum, and all he can think is, _I'm so, so fucked._

He rubs it all in once he's done, while Louis lies there panting. It's deliciously caveman and possessive and it's been years and years since Nick liked someone well enough to feel possessive and jealous about them. He massages the backs of Louis's thighs and his perfect arse, digging his thumbs in to ease the knots at the small of his back. Only once he's reached Louis's shoulders does he allow himself to lie down again, stretching out on his side and stroking Louis's back. Louis lifts his head after a few moments and Nick can only see the shadow lines of his face in the dark.

"Your sheets are a mess," Louis says, voice barely there, rough from forcing himself to keep quiet. Nick coaxes him into his arms, until Louis's resting on top of him, his cheek on Nick's chest, straddling Nick's hips, their flaccid dicks caught between them, the two of them still messy with Louis's come.

Nick strokes his hair. "That's all right. Good reason for them to be messy."

"Mm," says Louis. He has one of his hands curled underneath his chin. Nick traces the lines of his arm, the swell of his bicep down to his wrist. Louis's very quiet, which is a bit unsettling.

"All right?" Nick asks him.

Louis snuggles in closer, brushing his lips over Nick's collarbone. "Yeah," he says. Nick could probably fall asleep again now, Louis tucked against him like this. It's so comfortable. Louis's knuckles graze along his side and he laces his fingers with Nick's on the bed next to them. "Did you like, mean it? D'you really wanna do all those things with me?"

"What things?"

Louis pulls in a shaky breath. "Y'know, like. Train me, and make me be quiet, and like, handcuffs and shaving and, like. And knickers, and collars and stuff."

If Nick were younger he'd be ready for a second round just thinking about it. "God, yes. If you want it. Every bit of it."

"Me too," Louis says, very quickly. Nick smiles stupidly up at the ceiling, hugging Louis close to him. He's so fond of him already. Louis clears his throat. "I mean, you know. Me too. I want all of that. I like. I like the idea of being yours."

"I'm glad," Nick says, stroking his fingers through Louis's hair. "Cos I like that idea too. A lot."

"Do you think it's weird that, like, the time before I knew you seems a million miles away?" He sounds sleepy and pliant and relaxed, murmuring against Nick's shoulder, a boneless weight pinning Nick to the bed. 

"Nope," Nick says. "I didn't have breakfast before I started coming to the caff, you know that? I haven't had breakfast regularly since I was about thirteen. If I start piling on the pounds, I'm blaming you. This'll be your fault. I'll have a paunch."

"'s'good for you, breakfast," Louis tells him, a little hazily. He's dropping off, and it's ridiculously charming. "You can make me yours if you want. Want that."

Nick hesitates a little before cupping the back of Louis's head with his palm, cradling him close. He kisses the top of his head, even though the angle is weird and Louis is almost entirely asleep. "You're going to belong to me," he says, softly trailing his fingers through Louis's hair. His chest feels like it's expanding outwards, possession and need and want all coiling up inside of him. "Mine, love."

Louis hums against his skin. "Want that," he says, a mostly asleep murmur. "Yours."

Nick stays awake for a while after Louis drops off, stroking his fingers through Louis's hair. He's never fallen for anyone as fast or as hard as he's fallen for Louis. It's like jumping off a cliff and hoping for the best. 

They spend Sunday lazing about Nick's house, watching horrible telly and touching each other a lot. Nick orders takeaway pizza for dinner, and they eat it on the living room floor, Nick leaning back against the sofa and Louis between his legs. Louis hasn't worn anything but his pants and the shirt he borrowed from Nick all day, and Nick's made him come three more times since they got out of bed properly. Time has passed by in a strange sort of vortex, some hours stretching out long and so good Nick forgets who he is or what he's doing or that he has a job and other friends and responsibility outside of this weekend-long bubble of him and Louis, and the rest of the time passing so fast that before he knows it, it's nearly eight o'clock in the evening and he has hours of work left to get done.

"I have an essay due tomorrow," Louis tells him, full of pizza and holding his stomach, tucked up against Nick's chest. "I've barely started it yet."

"Procrastination never gets you anywhere," Nick says wisely. Louis elbows him in the stomach. Nick grunts, and captures both of Louis's hands in each of his own, crossing both their arms over him. Louis's hair tickles his cheek, and his lips are soft and his laughter quiet when they brush over Nick's face.

"I should really get home, probably," Louis murmurs.

_I wish you could stay_ , Nick thinks, but he'd never get anything done with Louis here, and it seems overly romantic. Instead he squeezes him tighter and kisses one of the marks he left on his neck. "D'you work tomorrow?"

"No, Mondays are a full day of lectures and seminars. It's the worst. I just have to get through the next two weeks though. Reading week is the one after."

"Oh?" Nick asks. He has two very important meetings this week and next, but his schedule, though not light at all, doesn't have anything that can't be moved to the following week. The idea of letting Louis go now and sleeping alone tonight seems horrible.

"Yeah, I just have so much to do first. You might have a point about that procrastination thing."

"S'pose I should get you home then," Nick says. 

Louis sighs, voice a bit distant. "S'pose you should."

Nick lets Louis drive back to his—although _lets_ might be too strong a term, considering Louis has the keys in his hand by the time Nick comes downstairs again—and he takes corners too tight and messes with the flappy-paddle gear stick and goes on about _Top Gear_ a lot. Nick hums along, because he's never watched _Top Gear_ , and doesn't intend to, but listening to Louis ramble on about anything seems like the best kind of option available. And then the journey's over, and they're pulling up outside Louis's grotty flat. 

The noise of the engine slides away to nothing. "Walk me to my door?" Louis asks, and Nick can't think of a reason why he'd say no to that, so he ends up snogging Louis on the fire escape outside his front door for a good ten minutes. He never got to do this as a teenager, so he might as well make up for it now, twenty-something years later. 

In the end, Louis slaps Nick's hand away from his arse. "I've got an essay," he says. "Going to have to do an all-nighter as it is."

Nick's got a pile of work too. It's rare he ever gets a whole weekend without at least something to do for the office, but normally he doesn't mind. He loves what he does. He just really doesn't want the date to end. "Fine," he says. "Go and write your essay." He pats Louis on the bum. "Text me and let me know how it's going."

Louis colours a bit at that, biting his lip. "Okay," he says. "So, um. When do I see you again?"

Nick rests his hand on Louis's hip, thumb stroking. "You working Tuesday morning?"

Louis nods. 

"Well then," Nick says, leaning in to touch a kiss to the corner of Louis's mouth. "I'll see you then."

He tries not to look back as he jogs down the fire escape and round the corner, but he can't help himself. Louis is leaning up against his door, still biting his lip. He's smiling, though, and he raises his hand to wave him goodbye. 

Nick grins, and drives back home with the music on loud and the windows down. 

~*~

Monday is so busy that Nick isn't even able to check his phone until nearly seven in the evening. He has three texts from Louis that he doesn't bother to read, just calls him up at once to hear his voice.

"Was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about me," Louis says, by way of greeting.

"Never," says Nick. "Been in meetings all bloody day. These meetings on Friday and Saturday in Milan are going to be a pain."

"Right, right, your life is just so hard, whisking off to Italy to faff about on yachts and drink champagne. Just so you know, cheating in your mind is still cheating."

Nick laughs out loud, putting his feet up on his office desk and leaning back in his chair. "No one on my mind but you, love. Anyway, Milan doesn't have a lot of yachts. How did your essay go?"

"It's all right. Harry had a look at it before I went in this morning. He said it's fine. He's actually pretty good at that sort of thing. I have another shortish one to write tonight. Not too chuffed about it, honestly. Been watching Spongebob for an hour and a half. Miss you a bit, I suppose. Is that bonkers? It's only been a day."

Nick covers his face with his hand, smiling like an absolute _idiot_. "I reckon it's a bit bonkers, yeah, but I miss you like mad too. We might be ridiculous."

"Might be," Louis says, but he doesn't sound sad about it.

They talk for a few more minutes whilst Nick gets his things together ready to leave, and then say a reluctant goodbye. When Nick gets home he has a quick dinner that his housekeeper left in the fridge for him, and is just getting to work on the million and one contract reviews he has to get through before tomorrow morning when his phone buzzes with a Snapchat.

It's from Louis. And, menace that he is, it's of his pretty, lovely little belly and his hand wrapped around his cock. It says _thinking of you_.

"You're despicable," Nick whispers, delighted.

Another one comes straight off the back of that, a video this time, Louis's hand moving on his cock, Louis's breathing the only other sound.

Christ, this boy.

The third one is his hand again, still moving on his dick, a whine, a breathless, _Daddy_ , before the video cuts off.

Nick leans forward and presses his forehead to the table, just for a minute, just until he realises how ridiculous that must look, and sits up again. He calls Louis again, his erection an insistent pressure against the zip of his trousers.

Louis doesn't say hello when he answers; the only way Nick knows he's there is his hitched, quiet breaths. "Essay keeping you busy, then, little one?" he asks. He doesn't touch himself. He's better than that.

"Just taking a break," Louis says, a little breathless. "Hi, Daddy."

"Fuck," Nick says, and gives in and presses the heel of his hand to his dick. "Well, aren't you a naughty boy?"

"The naughtiest, Daddy," Louis says, and Nick can hear his hand moving on his dick, even down the line. "I've been such a naughty boy, Daddy."

"Naughty boys need punishing, love," Nick says. "Wouldn't you agree?" He keeps his hand pressed tight to his dick, refusing to give in to it.

"What kind of punishment?"

"Well," Nick says, remembering Louis's scars and not wanting to push it too far. "They definitely can't come whenever they want. They have to ask their daddy's permission."

"What happens if I don't?" Louis asks.

"I think naughty boys need a spanking," Nick says. "Would you agree? Or can you think of another way naughty little boys who come without asking their daddy—who touch themselves, without asking their daddy—should be punished?"

"On my bum," Louis says. "That's where you should spank me." He waits a beat. "Nowhere else. That's where naughty boys need spanking."

"No surprises, baby," Nick says. 

"'m close," Louis breathes, pitch of his voice rising. Nick wishes he could see him because he must be so beautiful, playing with himself, getting himself off. 

"I can hear it," Nick tells him. God he's so hard. "What's got you so close, sweetheart?"

"Been thinking about you all day. 'Bout what you said. 'Bout training. Being a good boy for you. Smooth all over an', an' pretty, yeah?"

Nick bites into his knuckles, praying for patience. He wants Louis here with him now. He wants him in his lap, writhing, wants to watch him fall apart. "So pretty, lovely. Prettiest boy ever."

"For you," Louis gasps, almost sobbing. Nick can hear his hand working on his cock, a slick sound even over the phone line. "Daddy. _Daddy_ , for you. I need to come, please, please…"

"Not yet," Nick says. "Hold on, love. Can you hold it for me?"

"Y-nn," Louis gasps, whining. "Yeah."

"So good for me, Louis," Nick praises. He makes him do it three more times, get himself right there and then backing off, before finally telling him to stop all together.

"I think that's quite enough of that," he says, sounding stern. Louis's a wreck, breathing hard, little whimpers cut off. He must look a mess, so hard it hurts. "You have an essay to finish."

" _Nick_ ," Louis gasps, sounding furious. 

Nick grins, cock throbbing. "What was that?"

Louis makes an angry sound. " _Daddy_ , you absolute fucker. You're really not going to let me get off?"

"You started without my permission, didn't you? Sending me filthy, beautiful pictures, pet. Do naughty boys deserve to come?"

"No," Louis says, very sullen.

"Well, then," Nick says. He is so, so hard. "I tell you what, little one. You get your essay done, and then give me another ring, okay? Then we'll see." He loves this. He really loves it. 

"Daddy," Louis pleads. "Nick, please."

"Rules are rules, baby."

"You're enjoying this too much," Louis sounds grumpy. "How are you going to check if my essay's done or not?"

"Email it over when you're done. I'll text you my email."

Louis groans, long and hard. "I hate you," he says, but he sounds anything other than hateful. He sounds desperate and lovely and like he's halfway to belonging to Nick. That makes Nick's heart pound. "You're in league with my lecturers, you are."

"The only way to succeed is to work hard, sweetheart." Nick learned that the hard way. "Call me when you're done, okay? Doesn't matter what time. And don't touch yourself between now and then, love."

"Fine," Louis says. He sniffs, humphing. "When am I going to get my spanking, anyway? If you're jetting off somewhere exciting this weekend, and—"

"I leave on Friday," Nick says. "Do you want to have dinner on Thursday night?" 

"Yes," Louis says at once, very fast. "I'm hanging up now, sadist."

"Ring me when you've finished."

"Mm-hmm," Louis says grumpily, and hangs up. Nick grins into his hand, heart light, feeling like a love-struck idiot. It's thoroughly distracted him from his work, and it takes a long time to get back into what he's supposed to be doing. He finishes up most of the reports he needs to before his burning eyes refuse to read another word, and then packs his things away and stumbles upstairs to his room.

It's late, after midnight, and he's just finished cleaning his teeth when his phone informs him that he has a new email from Louis.

The essay is fairly good. Louis was obviously a bit rushed, and clearly has no real feelings on whether Godot is actually going to arrive or not, but it's complete and that's about as far as Nick really cares. He emails back, _well done_. Louis rings within seconds.

"You're bloody horrible," Louis says, sounding thrilled about it. "Was I a good boy, Daddy?"

"Such a good boy," Nick murmurs. He stretches out in his bed, just in his briefs, and palms himself lazily through his pants, dick fattening up easily. "Where are you now?"

"In my bed," says Louis.

"Are you dressed?"

"Just my underwear," says Louis. "Can't very well do an essay in the nude, can I?"

"You'd be surprised how much you can accomplish in the nude, Louis Tomlinson."

"Yeah, yeah," Louis says. "Do I get to touch myself yet? Daddy?"

"Cheeky," Nick says. His dick's tenting out his underwear, pulling the waistband away from his stomach. He pushes them down and out of the way, lazily cupping his balls. "I don't think you've persuaded me you've been good enough, yet."

"Urgh," Louis says, but he sounds breathless as well as grumpy. "What do you want me to do, Daddy?"

"Take your clothes off," Nick says. "Come on, love. Underwear off."

"Why can't you just be here and take them off for me?" Louis complains. There's a pause. "Done, I'm naked."

"Good boy," Nick says. "Put me on speaker, then get up on your hands and knees."

"Christ," Louis says, and then there's a bit of moving around and shuffling and then Louis sounds a bit more hollow. "Yeah. I've done it, Daddy."

"You ever finger yourself?" Nick asks, keeping his hand on his dick deliberately slow. 

Louis hisses in a breath. "Not when I'm by myself."

"First time for everything," Nick says. "You got lube?"

"Yeah," Louis says. "Got it right here."

"How long has it been?" Nick asks, suddenly needing to know the answer with every fibre of his being. "Since you've had anything—anyone—inside you?"

"I dunno, I dunno," Louis murmurs, so turned on and needy. "A few months, half a year, maybe. My last boyfriend."

Nick has to bite back an honest to God growl, because just the _idea_ of someone else touching Louis, holding Louis, calling him their boyfriend is driving him mad. He has to take a few calming breaths, balls so full in his hand, dick wet against his stomach. "You're tight then, aren't you?" he asks, and Louis hiccups a breath.

"Y-yeah, probably."

"Get your fingers wet, baby, all right? You can touch yourself but not your cock. Tell me what you're doing."

Louis moans, this hot little sound that goes right to Nick's dick. Nick palms over the head of his cock, spreading his legs a little bit. "Just, touching a little," Louis murmurs, his voice all thick, the way it gets when he's aroused. "Feels good. Been— _nngh_ \--been so long. Got— _ah!_ "

Christ, this kid is going to kill him.

"I'm just—touching so far. Just a bit. Feels so good, Daddy."

"Yeah?" Nick says, and he strokes his thumb across his slit, at the pre-come gathering there. If only Louis was here. "Slide a finger in, baby."

Louis groans, then, long and loud. "I've got one in, Daddy. Just a little bit. I'm so tight."

He's actually going to be the death of Nick, the actual death. 

"I bet you are," Nick says. He runs his knuckle down the underside of his dick, managing to keep his groan inside. "I bet you're so fucking tight, love, aren't you? Bet when I fuck you I'm going to have to spend ages fingering you open first. One finger after another, so fucking slow. You'd be so ready for it."

"Yeah," Louis lets out a breath. "Please—I want to be so ready. Finger me for ages."

Nick files that one away. He doesn't understand what or who made all those scars all over Louis's back and thighs, but if Louis even intimates that he needs to be well-prepped, than that's what he's going to be. Until Nick knows what happened, he's not going to do anything to hurt him, and especially not the slow burn of a quick fuck. 

He's never been this protective before. A bear protecting his cub. He's never been in this deep before, never wanted to own someone as bad as he's wanted to own Louis, make him his. 

"You make me want to get you a collar," he says, without thinking too much about it. He knows it's probably too much too soon.

Louis's breathing sounds ragged. "Yes," he says. "Like you own me. I'm so tight, Daddy. Even one finger's tight."

"You want to be owned, sweetheart? Be my sweet little one?" God, this is hot. Nick's skin is tingling all over and he's starting to sweat from how turned on he is. 

" _God_ , yes, please," Louis pants. "God, I'm fucking my finger in, it's so tight, Nick, I can't. I want. _Please_."

"Doing so good for me, love," Nick tells him, forming a quick fist around his dick to fuck into. He'll make sure they Skype the next time they do this, so he can see. Better yet he'll make sure he's got Louis here in person, can watch him take himself apart. "Can you find your prostate on your own?"

"I don't know, I don't—" Louis sobs, breath ragged, strangled. There's a slick sound and he moans, loud enough for it to vibrate through Nick hotly. "God, yes, just, Daddy, Daddy it feels so, _oh_ , it feels so good Daddy, want to touch my cock. Can I touch my cock?"

"Yes," Nick answers, eyes rolling back into his head as fucks up into his hand. "Go ahead, don't take your finger out, keep it buried in deep."

"Yeah," Louis gasps. He sounds just wrecked. Nick's going to come just like this. "Yeah, God, I'm gonna come, Nick, Daddy, can I come, please? Please let me come I want to come for you, I'm a good boy, I promise, lemme show you, be so good, Daddy, please please please—"

God fucking Jesus shitting damn. "Yes, baby, you can come for me, come for me now."

Louis does, with a shout that must be muffled into his pillow or his arm and Nick just imagines him there, on his knees and elbows with his arse in the air, finger shoved into himself, hole clenching around it as he shoots into his hand messy and wet. 

"Such a good boy," Nick says, and he wants to wank for real, wants to be there, with him, wants to palm Louis's lovely, lovely bum and come all over him, all over his hole and his crack and his arse, wants to rub it in afterwards and pull Louis into his lap, hold him close. He wants to come inside of him, without a fucking condom, wants his come to leak out of Louis afterwards, wants to lick it all up and make him cry out. He wants to come in him again, plug him up and keep his come inside of him, wants to make him walk around with the plug in, tell him not to get hard. He wants to _make_ him not get hard, wants to cage him up, tell him when he can come. He wants a collar with Louis's name on it, and his name on it, ownership defined in metalwork. He wants so, so much. 

"You going to come, Daddy?" Louis asks. 

"You ever used a vibrator?" Nick asks, still refusing to give in and wank himself off, even though he's nearing the edge of desperation just imagining Louis like this, breathless and panting and sprawled across his sheets. 

"No," Louis says. "But I'm so tight."

"I'll get you a tiny one," Nick says. "A really little one. Pink and pretty, just like you. It would just slide on in, sweetheart. Just a tiny one. Get you back into it."

"Christ," Louis says. "Is that—god, yes, please. Please, Daddy." His breath catches. "I want to hear you come. Please. I want to hear you come."

"Louis," Nick murmurs, fond and wanting and hungry.

"Need it," Louis insists. He sounds so fucked out, voice slurred. "Please, Daddy, let me hear? God I want to see, wish I could see. Wish I could touch you, want to blow you, want to ride you. More than anything, want to just, God, want to just sink down on you, feel you all deep inside me. You're fucking big, Nick, just wanna sit on your cock and keep you inside me for as long as I can."

"Shit," Nick mutters, completely taken out of his head. He knew he was going to give in, but he didn't know it would be so fast. He wanks himself fast and tight, and when he comes he gasps out Louis's name like it's something precious to him. It's dangerous, this whole thing; he's giving so much of himself away. 

"God," Louis says, once Nick's done. He hasn't come so much in so few days since he was in uni. "You sound really, like. Really fucking good when you come. You look good, too. I wanted to be able to make fun of you for it, because everyone has stupid O faces, but yours is actually really hot."

"Everything I do is hot," Nick sniffs, trying not to smile. "How d'you feel now, little one? More relaxed?"

"Mmph," says Louis. "Sleepy."

"Go to sleep then."

Louis hums a quiet sigh. "M'kay," he says. "Stay on the phone and sleep with me?"

Jesus. "Whatever you want. You only ever have to ask."

The thing is: he's never actually done this. He's never actually stayed on the phone all night and slept down the line to someone. He's 37 years old and he thought he'd experienced it all already, but he's seriously _this close_ to being in love with Louis, and that's terrifying. He's 19 years old and it makes Nick's heart constrict just to think about him. He's never even come close to moving this quickly. He stays in bed and listens to the soft hum of Louis's breath down the phone, imagining him passed out asleep with his phone by his head, and he stares up at the ceiling. He doesn't know when he falls asleep, but it takes him a while. 

He's woken by the unfamiliar, insistent sound of what he can only assume is Louis's alarm clock down the phone. "Fuck," he says, even though his alarm is supposed to go off in eleven minutes. "God."

"Morning," Louis says, sleepily, the insistent alarm taking a rather long time to shut the fuck up. 

"Your alarm clock's horrible," Nick says. "I'm buying you a new one."

"Buy me a Lamborghini," Louis says. "I like my clock. Fuck, I hate mornings. I hate this stupid job."

"You don't," Nick says. "You always look like you're having a laugh."

"I'm a brilliant actor," Louis tells him. "You coming in for your breakfast?"

"Definitely am," Nick says. He can't believe he's doing this. His phone is trying to tell him he's been on the line for far, far too many hours. He doesn't know how to hang up. He doesn't even want to hang up. He rubs sleep out of his eyes and buries his face in his hands, just for a moment. 

"I'm going to have a shower," Louis says. "I'm going to take the phone in with me, if you want to listen."

"I have to shower too, you menace," Nick says. If he listens to Louis in the shower he'll never make it to the office, let alone to breakfast.

"Fine," says Louis. "Are you going to get yourself off?"

"Might do," says Nick.

"Good," says Louis. "I'll see you in a bit."

He hangs up before Nick can say anything at all. Nick showers and gets dressed, whistling along with a tune on The Breakfast Show. He puts on a smart suit, because he's meeting Cara and Rita for lunch today, naturally. And if he's still trying to impress Louis, that's his own business. 

When he arrives at the cafe, it's empty and Louis is notably absent. Nick frowns, and wanders over to his usual seat. When he looks up again, Harry is right there, holding a cup of Nick's favourite dark roast and eyeing Nick like a hawk. "Hiya, Harry," says Nick. They've got on fantastically since the second they met, Harry and Nick have, but Harry's got a strange look on his face.

"Nick," he says, and hands Nick his coffee. "I'm here to ask after your intentions."

Nick doesn't really know what to do with that, so he tries to look a bit stupid. He's not sure if it's his best look. "My... coffee intentions? Because I'm going to drink that. And then see if I can get cornflakes again, or if that was just a one-off, never to be repeated special."

Harry just frowns a bit more, and keeps a hold of the saucer. Nick has the coffee, and one hand on the saucer too, but Harry isn't giving it up. 

Nick isn't going to fight over a saucer. He lets go. "I take it we're talking about Louis."

"We are," Harry says. "And your intentions."

"Who's asking?" Nick asks, carefully. 

"Me," Harry says. "And Zayn." He nods back over his shoulder to the counter, where Zayn's making no secret of staring at them instead of serving customers. Louis is nowhere to be seen. "And Niall and Liam too. You don't know Niall but he's one of our best friends, and—"

Nick shakes his head. "I'll be careful with him," he says. 

Harry looks awkward. "There's—" he lets out a breath. "Look, all right? He looks brave and like he's a massive extrovert and nothing ever hurts him, but—god, um—sometimes he's not, all right? And people don't get that. And he gets hurt. And we don't want that." He glances over at Zayn, before squaring his shoulders and looking fiercely back at Nick. "So. What are your intentions?"

"I've, um, seen—" Nick doesn't know how to say, _I've seen the scars_. He doesn't know what they mean but they're nothing tiny and insignificant. If Louis's friends are even an eighth as protective towards Louis as Nick thinks he might be becoming, then Louis isn't short of people willing to lie down in traffic for him. He doesn't know how to say, _I'll protect him_. He settles for, "I don't want to hurt him, okay? I just want to make him happy." He's never like this. He never says stuff like this. 

"You're twenty years older than he is," says Zayn. 

"That doesn't matter," says Harry, rolling his eyes and smiling and looking much more like the Harry that Nick is used to. "Ignore Zayn. He's learning to be more open minded."

"This isn't a thing I do, you know," Nick tells Harry once he has his coffee. "Just in case that's what you're thinking. Young pretty things, that's not what this is about. I like him. Truly."

"Of course you do," says Harry. "Everyone does. Who wouldn't?"

"Exactly, Hazza my love," says Louis, waltzing in from the cold with pink cheeks and the new red scarf Nick bought him wrapped securely around his neck. He kisses Harry's cheek and Harry wraps around him like a monkey. "Shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"

"Shouldn't you have been here an hour ago?" Harry asks. 

"I'm very busy and important. There's no one here anyway."

"Zayn cleared everyone out," Harry whispers, and then Zayn is right there and dragging Harry away by the ear, still looking at Nick like he's not to be trusted. Louis drops into Nick's lap and kisses him square on the mouth before Nick can say so much as hello. 

"Hello," Louis says. "Did you miss me?"

"Since, like, an hour ago?" Nick can't help it, he slides his hand down to cup Louis's bum, even though Louis's friends are watching. He doesn't linger there, even though he's fairly sure Louis doesn't mind. 

Louis wriggles in his lap. "Since an hour ago," he agrees. "Did you miss me?"

"You're a menace," Nick tells him, even as Louis's cupping his face. "Don't you have work to do?"

"It can absolutely wait," Louis tells him, planting a kiss right on the corner of his mouth. "Did they bring you the right coffee?"

"They did," Nick says, "but they didn't bring me cornflakes. Is that just a you thing? The cornflakes?"

"You're terribly rich," Louis says. "Can't you think of anything posher to have for breakfast?"

Nick thinks for a while, but he can't really think all that much because Louis has one arm wrapped around Nick's shoulders, and an earnest look on his face, like the breakfast habits of the rich and famous are super interesting. They're not, so Nick suspects that Louis must be up to something. "Crunchy nut?" he suggests, finally.

"With crushed diamonds on the top? Caviar on the side?"

"You ever had caviar?"

"Have I buggery," Louis kisses him again. "We do: full English, veggie full English, sausage sandwiches, bacon sandwiches, scrambled eggs on toast, black pudding if it's a special occasion, and cornflakes, if it's you and I nip next door. And porridge, obviously."

"You nipped next door?"

"To the shop, yes," Louis says, impatiently. "We don't keep cornflakes in."

"You're terrible," Nick says, but he means, _I think you're brilliant_.

"I know," Louis says. "Anyway, get off me, you're keeping me from my awfully important work, and I know that you think work is more important than breathing."

Nick rolls his eyes. "Bring me cornflakes," he says. "Or I could go to the shop myself."

"There's some left over from last week," Louis says, a little airily. He steals Nick's coffee and drinks most of it down in one gulp, before sliding off Nick's knee and leaning down to kiss the corner of his mouth. "See you later, alligator."

"In a while, crocodile," Nick says solemnly, and Louis smiles so wide Nick just wants to wrap him up again.

He gets his cornflakes, and also a poached egg on toast, compliments of Harry. The cafe gets very busy whilst Nick eats, and Louis ignores his job completely to sit and have a fry up of his own at Nick's table. "Tuesdays are busy, too, but not as bad as Mondays. I'll be finished by three and then I work another shift here. The dinner crowd is always a pain, but my mate Aiden is the cook then, so it'll be a laugh. Not that Harry isn't a laugh."

He's very chatty in the morning. "Harry's great," he agrees. "When will you be home, then?"

"Still before you, probably," Louis says. "I finish at ten."

"I have a demo for our show in Milan tonight, it'll be well into the morning before I'm finished up."

Louis sticks his tongue out at him. "You could still give me a call, though, to say goodnight."

"Obviously," says Nick. He grins.

" _Louis!_ " Zayn shouts from behind the counter, looking stressed, yet still somehow unfathomably beautiful. Louis ducks his head, and looks a bit guilty.

"I should go."

Nick laughs and nudges Louis's knee with his own under the table. "Me too, sweetheart. I'll give you a ring this evening?"

"Yes, Daddy," Louis whispers, leaning in to give him a kiss. Nick shivers and smacks him very discreetly on the arse when he walks by.

Nick sees Louis for breakfast the following morning, and then again at lunchtime for a total of 24 minutes, when they stand outside a way too busy Costa and Nick buys Louis a hot chocolate with whipped cream and a flake. Nick has a double espresso shot, because this Milan trip is driving him to distraction, and he doesn't stop going on about every single logistics fuck-up that's crossed his desk in the last three hours until Louis tucks his smaller hand into Nick's, and goes up on his toes to kiss Nick's cheek. He points out, quite politely for Louis, that he has a Samuel Becket seminar in 18 minutes, and he doesn't give a fuck about anything that isn't holding Nick's hand. 

Nick stops complaining after that. 

It's a lovely, distracting, 24 minutes, and it allows Nick to get through the rest of the afternoon at work without having to sack everyone he's ever employed because they're all driving him mad. He gets a break at half past eight in the evening, and there are six messages on his phone from Louis, two of which are very, very low quality pictures of a very large old English sheepdog wearing lederhosen and a very silly hat.

_Saw this amazeballs dog and thought of you!!!_

Nick has no idea why a dog dressed up in alpine costume should remind Louis of him, but whatever. He texts back, _I'm very busy and important._

Louis's reply says, _too busy to phone me and listen to me get off? :((( if you let me, obviously xxxxxxx_

It is literally the worst thing ever to have to text back and say he's still at work and can't take a break. He can't wait until this Milan trip is over. 

He lets Louis come, though, and Louis sends him text updates, which Nick gets at two in the morning when his driver comes to pick him up and take him home. 

Then there's breakfast, on Thursday morning, and Nick knows he must look exhausted, because Louis just sits in his lap and feeds him toast and strawberry jam whilst telling him about yesterday's fancy dressed dog, which Nick appreciates even if he can't hang around and ogle Louis's arse for anything longer a few minutes past him finishing his coffee.

Louis comes over to kiss him goodbye as Nick's pulling on his coat and scarf, ready to leave. "See you tonight," he says, kissing Nick's jaw. He presses his mouth to Nick's ear. " _Daddy_."

It is, naturally, the longest, slowest-moving day of his life. He's so eager to get home to Louis and things are such a fucking shit show for Milan that every hour drags by, and he still doesn't get out before seven. He's exhausted and about to bloody scream, but finally everything is as finished as it could possibly be and they're as prepared as they can get, and his poor harried assistant, Margaret, who will get a huge raise this year, is buzzing in, "Mr Grimshaw? There's a Louis Tomlinson here for you?"

Nick's whole body sags in relief. They'd set up for Louis to meet him here, but somehow it felt like it would never happen, that this day would never end. He pushes the button on the intercom. "Send him in, Margaret."

A second later Louis is pushing the glass doors open and slipping inside, looking tiny in Nick's big office, cheeks pink from the cold outside, and a huge smile on his face that immediately drops into a concerned frown. "Nick? You look dreadful."

Nick rolls his eyes and stands up. "C'mere, love," he says, and Louis crosses the distance at a jog and leaps into Nick's arms. Nick laughs, falling back against the desk with Louis wrapped all around him. He snares Louis's lips in a hot, much-needed kiss. He feels better just having Louis right here, breathing the same air. In his arms feels like a bloody miracle.

"You look so tired," Louis murmurs, kissing Nick's jaw. "We don't have to do anything tonight. You've worked so much this week, you should sleep."

"Don't sleep nearly as well when you're not with me, I've discovered," Nick says, and then winces. He's a bit too honest for his own good. Louis smiles shyly and ducks his head, hugging Nick tighter. He lets his legs slide down and his feet hit the floor. Nick dips down to give him another slow, lingering kiss. "Been waiting all week for this, my naughty, naughty boy."

Louis sinks his teeth into Nick's neck, light and feisty like a kitten. "Me too," he whispers. "I've been so naughty. Was this morning, too, couldn't help it, had a dream about you."

Nick frowns down at him, trying very hard to look stern. "Did you make yourself come?"

Louis look away, biting his lip, and nods. "I'm sorry," he says, all innocence and sweetness again, like he doesn't know any better. "I didn't mean to, I just. I wanted it so much."

"Christ," Nick says, and he's really too knackered and past the point of enjoying work to maintain anything close to stern. "I'm going to spank you double for that, you know."

Louis rubs his nose over Nick's cheek. "I know," he says. "Naughty boys need punishing, though."

Nick strokes his hand down over Louis's bum. "They really do," he says, palming his arse. 

"It was such a good dream, though," Louis says, pressing himself even closer to Nick's chest. "You kept telling me how good a boy I was being. Woke up really hard. Couldn't go to work with a massive erection, could I? Me and Harry were getting the bus together."

"You're incorrigible," Nick says, stifling a yawn. "How d'you fancy sushi? It's dead easy, isn't it, if you're just picking stuff off a conveyor belt. There's a table booked at The Ivy, but we can go there any time."

Louis looks doubtful. "Isn't sushi just a lot of raw fish? Not, like, the hugest fish fan. Except for fish fingers, but I don't suppose you can get a fish finger sandwich there. I don't really know if I've had that much fish. I like sweet and sour battered prawn balls from the Chinese."

"I didn't know prawns had balls," Nick says. He reaches behind him to turn his computer off and grab his tablet from the desk. He's got his laptop in his new Mulberry bag already, so all he has to do is put on his coat and slide his hand into Louis's. "I think you might like it, and frankly, if you hate it, we can just go and badger The Ivy to let us take our table late."

"I'm trusting you," Louis says, still looking doubtful. He doesn't let go of Nick's hand though, even as Nick's doing a last minute handover of papers to his secretary on his way out, and whilst they're waiting for the lift and some of Nick's staff walk by and do a double take. Nick just grins at them, because he's done with being here until next week, and all he has to do for the next twelve hours is eat, spank Louis if he's up for it, sleep, and be awake enough for his car to pick him up to go the airport at ten. 

He rather thinks that the best part of all of that might be the spanking. He hopes Louis's up for it. It feels like he is. 

Louis likes sushi just fine, as it turns out. Nick takes him to a little takeaway sushi place down a side street on the way back to Hampstead, and once Louis asks the man behind the counter for fish fingers Nick takes over ordering for the both of them. Louis complains the whole time. He wants a sandwich, he says, with something sensible on it like ham. Nick kisses him quiet twice, and Louis finally relents into hooking his arm through Nick's and his hand into Nick's trouser pocket.

His driver drops them off at Nick's house, and they eat together in front of the telly, watching _X Factor_. Louis makes a face with every bite, but Nick can tell he likes it by the sheer virtue of Louis not spitting it out, as Nick is one hundred per cent sure that he would if he didn't. 

"I suppose this is all right," says Louis, poking at some eel. "What is it?"

"Fish fingers," Nick says at once.

"Oh, shut up," says Louis, licking some sauce off of Nick's face.

After dinner, Louis insists on taking their plates into the kitchen, and when he comes back he climbs right into Nick's lap, straddling him. He feels so good and gorgeous and just right in Nick's arms. Nick's missed him, as ridiculous as it sounds. He kisses Louis's neck and rests against him. Louis gives a gentle sigh and strokes Nick's hair. 

"Poor darling," he says. "Exhausted, aren't you? Let me take care of you."

"Only got the whole weekend to get through," Nick admits, tiredly, his voice muffled against Louis's shirt. Of course he wants to go; this is the kind of trip he lives for. He just wishes that he didn't feel quite so tired, or quite so unwilling to leave someone who's been his boyfriend less than a week. Perhaps the less said about that the better. 

"Well, you've got tonight with me first," Louis says, curling his fingers into Nick's hair. "And I'm going to look after you for a change."

Nick huffs a laugh into Louis's shirt. "I'm still going to give you a spanking," he says. "My naughty boy."

"As if I expected anything different. But first I'd like to suck you off. Can I do that, Daddy? I want to have your cock in my mouth. Daddy, please."

"God." Nick wakes up a bit at that, and so does his dick. "Right, okay, let's go upstairs."

"No, Daddy," Louis says. "I've been naughty. I want to go down on my knees for you now. Here." He chews on his lip, so terribly pretty, and Nick can't help the way his dick is fattening up at the very thought. 

"All right, little one. Stand up and take your clothes off. Take your clothes off for Daddy."

Louis darts in to press a kiss to Nick's mouth, and then scrambles to his feet. He was all dressed up, Nick realises, a nice shirt and black trousers and polished shoes. He'd made an effort. Nick feels bad for not taking them to The Ivy. 

"I'll take you to the Ivy some other time," he says, as Louis unbuttons his shirt and takes off the rest of his clothes, piece by piece. "I promise. I'll wine and dine you properly."

"You just did wine and dine me properly," Louis says, peeling off his skinny trousers. 

He's not wearing underwear. 

"Thought it would be easier for you to spank me like this," Louis says, and fuck that blow job, for real. That blow job can follow on from Louis's spanking, and Nick suspects Louis's already agreeing to that, if the way his eyes are shining are anything to go by. 

He's so lovely, naked and gorgeous in Nick's living room, mouth red from where he's been chewing on his lips. Nick spreads his legs a little bit. "You know, I don't think naughty boys deserve to have their daddy's cock in their mouths. I don't think they've earned that at all."

Louis pushes his bottom lip out, just a bit, and makes his eyes big and round. "But. But maybe after their punishment?"

"Maybe," says Nick, his dick hard in his trousers. "If they're very sorry, and they promise to be good."

"I will," says Louis. "I am. I will."

"Not yet, you aren't," says Nick. "C'mere, love, over my knee."

Louis toes at the ground, playing up the petulance. He's incredible. "But _Daddy_."

"Not another word," says Nick. "Come here."

Louis slouches over, but eagerly spreads himself out on the sofa over Nick's lap, bum lifted, cock pushed into Nick's thighs. It's so hot. It's impossibly, scorching hot. Nick wets his lips, palms over the swell of Louis's bum. He's never had an arse like this one, never _seen_ one as good as Louis's. It's round and perfect and lovely. Louis's blushing all down his neck and back and breathing heavily into his arm. "Daddy, you. This is embarrassing."

"Hush," says Nick. "Now we have to punish you for yesterday, touching yourself without permission, and this morning, getting yourself off without permission, don't we?"

"Yes, Daddy," Louis mumbles.

Nick grazes his fingers through the cleft of Louis's arse, over his hole, and Louis bucks a little, cock getting thick and fat and wet against Nick's legs. "I think five each, does that sound fair?"

Louis swallows hard. "Do I… Do I need to count them?"

God. "Yes. Yes you do."

"Okay, Daddy," Louis says, already breathless. He wriggles in Nick's lap, trembling, and Nick palms his bum, wanting to learn every single fucking inch of Louis's body. He's so, so lovely. 

"You know you can stop me at any time, right?" Nick says. He strokes his palm over Louis's arse. "You can just say stop."

Louis wriggles. "I know," he says. "I don't want to."

Nick leans down to press a kiss to the back of Louis's neck. "So long as you know."

"I know," Louis says softly, rubbing his dick against Nick's thighs. "Now, get on with it. Daddy."

Nick rolls his eyes. "You'll be my good boy after this," Nick tells him, fingertips pressing into the curve of Louis's bum. He wants to catch him off guard, wants to build up the anticipation so that Louis is even more desperate than he already is, trying to rock down against Nick's thighs. He hadn't expected Louis to react like this, so delicious, so desperate. "Will Daddy's naughty little boy have learned his lesson, though?"

"I need to ask you before I play with myself," Louis says, innocently desperate. It goes straight to Nick's dick, and only the utmost in self control means that he's not bucking up and trying to rub off against Louis's dick right now. 

"Who do you need to ask?" Nick's tiredness is seeping away, to be replaced with anticipation and need. 

"Daddy," Louis breathes, trying to wriggle, but Nick's stopping him with a hand to his arse, pinning him down. "I need to ask my daddy."

"And who's your daddy, sweetheart? Who's your daddy, little one?"

Louis gasps out a long, ragged breath. "You are," he says. "You're my daddy."

Nick spanks him then, hard enough that his palm tingles. He waits for Louis to count, _one_ , before he goes in for the second, the other cheek this time, three coming straight off the back of that, same place. Louis whimpers and sobs out the count, already crying, trying to rut down against Nick's lap, so, so hard. 

Nick takes a break, then, soothing his hand down Louis's back. Louis's trembling, panting, his dick leaking onto Nick's trousers so much that Nick can feel the damp patch. "Shh, little one. You're all right," Nick murmurs. He waits until Louis is calm again, letting out little sniffles, and then he lays four more smacks one right after the other. Louis's breathing so hard, crying and whimpering.

" _Eight_ ," Louis gasps, sounding wretched and so turned on, humping Nick's lap.

"Two more, my love," Nick promises.

" _Daddy_ ," Louis sobs. His arse is so red and lovely, sore-looking, all but glowing, and just for Nick. Nick swats him twice more, and as soon as Louis sobs out _ten_ , Nick is coaxing him up. He's got tears on his cheeks and is flushed so red, his cock hard, vein on the underside thick. He whimpers when his arse touches Nick's lap. " _Daddy_ , 'm sorry. 'm sorry for playing with myself without permission. 'm sorry, I didn't think, I just want you all the time."

Nick hushes him, biting hard on his lip, trying to control himself. It's almost impossible to keep from pressing Louis down into the sofa and rutting into him until he comes all over him. He wants to fuck him, wants to open him up with his tongue and his fingers and slide right inside him, wants to come inside him, wants to own him. Louis sniffles into Nick's neck, shivering. Nick wraps him up tight, holding him close, kissing his sweaty hair over and over again.

"You did so good, baby, you did so well. You're such a good boy, Lou, the best boy ever. You're so good for me, aren't you?"

"Daddy," Louis whines, pushing his hips in against Nick's stomach like he can't help himself. "Daddy, Daddy."

"'m here, baby. I'm right here."

"Want to come, Daddy," Louis sobs, dick pressed up against Nick's stomach. "Please, Daddy. I've been good."

"I know you have, love," Nick says, and he wraps his hand around Louis's erection, his other hand pressed to the back of Louis's neck, his skin damp with sweat. Louis buries his face in Nick's shoulder, so that the angle is all wonky, but Nick wanks Louis without any deliberate attempt at speed. 

Louis whimpers and hugs him and pants into Nick's neck as Nick continues to bring him off, Louis desperate and trembling and trying to fuck up into Nick's fist. "I'm a good boy," he tells Nick, and fuck, Louis is tearing him into pieces. 

"You're so good," Nick tells him. "You're my best boy, love. You took your spanking so well. Like such a good boy."

"Want to come," Louis says, again. "Please, Daddy. I want to come."

"Sweetheart," Nick says. "You can come."

Louis sobs as he comes, hips rocking up into Nick's fist, his come striping over Nick's shirt, except it's rucked up so that some of it hits his stomach too. He has a naked, whimpering Louis in his lap, breathless and hugging him so tight it hurts, and Nick genuinely has no idea how they got to this point, when it was that they talked about taking each other to pieces. 

"Nick," Louis says, in a muffled voice. He rubs his forehead against Nick's shoulder. "Nick. Daddy."

Nick strokes his hands up and down Louis's back, over the little ridges where his scars interlace, down to his bum and back up again. "My lovely boy," he says, reaching up so that he can tuck his crooked finger under Louis's chin and tilt his head up so that he can meet his gaze. "Aren't you something, huh?"

Louis is all flushed and a bit sweaty. "Daddy," he says. "I love calling you that."

"Quite like being called it," Nick tells him, stroking Louis's hair away from his face. It's only a slight under-estimate of how it actually makes him feel. "You okay? Not too sore?"

Louis shakes his head. "I'm fine, Daddy. Bit sore but it's fine. It feels good. Do I get to suck you off now?"

"Yeah, baby, you can."

Louis smiles and kisses Nick's cheek, his jaw, and then his lips. Nick presses his tongue into Louis's mouth, tastes him thoroughly before reluctantly letting him go, the pressure of his cock almost painful. Louis sighs, heavy-lidded and still aroused, even as his cock softens. "Can I take your shirt off?"

"Mmhm," Nick answers. Louis unfastens the buttons of Nick's shirt one-by-one, and each time Nick gets a kiss on the nose or cheek or forehead or eyelids. When they're all undone Louis gets his hands underneath the collar, onto Nick's skin, and pushes it off. 

"Love your chest hair," Louis says, voice breathy and soft and Nick loves it so much, thinks of it whenever they're not talking. Louis's hand strokes over Nick's chest, catching in the curls. "So soft. Shouldn't be so soft."

"I condition," Nick says.

"Really?"

Nick snorts. "My chest hair? No."

Louis shrugs, scooting back on Nick's lap so his bum's nearly to Nick's knees, then he suddenly dips down and latches onto one of Nick's nipples with his mouth, all teeth and tongue. It's obscenely hot, and catches Nick by surprise. He cradles the back of Louis's head in his hand and holds him there for a bit, letting out a low groan when Louis switches to the other. His fingers pinch the wet one, until Nick's nipples are stiff and hard and Nick's stiffy is so demanding now that he tugs Louis up, fingers tangling in his hair to kiss him again.

"Daddy," Louis whispers, eyes all dark. "Daddy."

"My sweet boy," Nick murmurs, thumbing over his cheek. "My good, lovely boy."

Louis slides off Nick's lap and onto the floor, knees hitting carpet with a soft thud. He paws at Nick's crotch, uncoordinated because he's got his mouth on Nick's thigh, hot through Nick's trousers, and his eyes closed. Nick undoes the zip and button and grips Louis by the hair again, guides his head up. Louis pulls Nick's pants down until the elastic rests under the weight of Nick's balls. "Even these are big," Louis says, getting a hand around the base of Nick's dick and cupping his balls. He's really playing up the young and innocent thing tonight and Nick's eating it up, loves it, the way Louis makes his eyes big and his nostrils flare like he's using every one of his senses to feel Nick in this moment. 

"Lovely, aren't you baby?" Nick asks, stroking Louis's hair. "Like a nice cock, don't you?"

"Makes me feel so full," Louis says, and Nick bites his lip on a moan.

"Open your mouth, sweetheart."

Louis does, and Nick guides his head down. Louis's mouth feels like heaven, so hot and wet, lips wrapped tight around him. Louis laps at the head like he's licking a cornetto, and sinks down as far as he can go before pulling back up and off. "Daddy?"

"Mm?"

"Will you, like. Will you teach me how to take you all the way in? Deep throat you?"

_Christ_ , Nick thinks, fingers catching in Louis's hair. "Of course I will, love," he says, guiding Louis back down until his mouth is on his dick again. "We'll train you up, baby, a bit at a time, until you're swallowing me all down. You'll be so good at it, Lou. So enthusiastic, aren't you? Such a good learner." He's babbling, he knows he's babbling, but it doesn't make him want to stop. Louis is just working on the crown at the moment, licking at the tip, mouth wrapped around him. Nick runs his fingertips over Louis's lips, and then as Louis takes more of him in, over Louis's cheek, over the outline of his cock. "Such a pretty boy, Louis. Such a good, pretty boy for Daddy."

Louis wraps his fist around the base of Nick's erection then, still looking up at him, eyes wet, tear-tracks down his cheeks from his spanking. He works his tongue over the prominent vein along the underside of Nick's dick, taking more of him in. It's almost too much for him already, Nick can tell. 

"You're doing so well," Nick goes on, determined not to come yet. He's been practicing holding out for years. It's almost second nature. It's a slightly different turn of events when Louis is the one with his mouth on his dick, though. It's accelerating things, somewhat. "Look how much you can take already, baby. I'll make you practice until you can take me all. You'll be a good learner, won't you, sweetheart? Daddy's lovely boy."

Louis pulls off at that, lips red and wet. "You're my daddy," he says, voice a little raw. Nick reaches down and pinches Louis's nipple, finger and thumb. Louis trembles, hips bucking up. He's getting hard again. He's so, so lovely, kneeling there, dick nestled between his thighs, perking up and starting to pay attention again. He's little and perfect, and he's Nick's. "You're mine."

"Yeah," Nick says, guiding Louis back towards his dick again. He tips his head back against the sofa cushions as Louis goes down on him again, delicious and loud around his dick. He needs a moment, a moment of not looking down at Louis if he wants to hold off. He really wants to hold off. 

Louis reaches for his hand, tucking his fingers into Nick's, and Nick can't help it now; he looks down, at their joined hands, at Louis's mouth on his dick, and he starts to come, just like that. 

Louis chokes on it, come sliding out of his mouth, and afterwards Nick watches him wipe his mouth as he sits back on his heels, licking at the back of his hand. Nick wraps his hand around his dick and milks the last of his come out, a long dribble that lands on Louis's thigh. He tips his head back, breathing hard, and Louis scrambles up into his lap, hiding his face in the curve of Nick's neck. 

"Did I do well, Daddy?" Louis asks, still so deliciously innocent. "Did I do it right? Did I make you feel good?"

"Baby, you were perfect," Nick tells him, hand to his hair. He strokes it away from Louis's face. "Daddy's going to teach you how to take more, though. You'll take it all, love, and you'll look so good doing it. So pretty." He's still stroking Louis's hair away from his face, but Louis just buries closer and starts to play with Nick's nipples. "Such a baby cock slut, aren't you, love?"

"Not usually," Louis says, mouth to Nick's skin. "Just you. Want all of you. Every way I can."

Nick wraps his arms around Louis's shoulders, and kisses the top of his head. He doesn't know what to do with this much intimacy this quickly. He doesn't want to leave him for the weekend, and he really, really doesn't know what to do with that information. 

"Do you want to come again, little love?" Nick asks. Louis's been such a good boy for him, so eager to learn. "Do you want to come for me?"

Louis shakes his head, pulling back enough to kiss Nick's cheek. "No, I want to hold it. I like doing that, it turns out." Nick smirks, heart pounding. Christ, this boy. Louis rolls his eyes. "Look at how smug you are."

"No one could have you as their boyfriend and not be smug, love," says Nick. Louis blushes, looking away, disbelieving. Louis is full of these little quirks, all these little hints that he thinks a bit less of himself than everyone else. Nick doesn't know what happened to him, who hurt him or how many times or when it all happened, but he's going to spend every moment of every day from here until Louis's finished with him trying to show him how beautiful and smart and funny and lovely he is.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Louis says.

"Especially if it's true," Nick agrees. Louis wets his lips and hugs Nick again, clinging tight. Nick wraps around him, rubbing his back, and they sit there for a long time, snogging lazily, exchanging sleepy kisses. Nick's so tired, though, and after a while Louis stands up, still hard, and offers Nick a hand.

"C'mon, Nicholas. Time to get you to bed."

"I'm all right."

Louis gives him a stern look and puts his hands on his hips. He's adorable. "Nope. I'm taking care of you. S'my job, innit? You're too busy to look after yourself so I'll do it for you. C'mon, chop chop."

"You're proper bossy when you want to be," Nick says admiringly. He lets himself be pulled to his feet, though, even as Louis is letting go of his hand and then grabbing it again, lacing his fingers into Nick's.

"Stop complaining," Louis tells him, frowning. It's quite deliciously attractive, that little furrow in his brow. "I'm doing the looking after tonight, so get used to it."

"Fine," Nick says and leans in to kiss him on the cheek. He really is very tired. Very tired indeed. 

Louis tugs him towards the stairs, and Nick follows, exhausted. Even walking up behind Louis, and getting a lovely view of his bum isn't enough to make his tiredness go away. 

"Finish getting undressed and go and put your dressing gown on," Louis says, once they get upstairs. "I'm going to run us a bath."

Nick doesn't really do baths. He's more of a shower kind of a guy. Louis is wearing that fierce, mulish expression that means he's definitely not for turning though, so Nick meekly does what he says and goes into the bedroom as Louis heads for the bathroom. There's a bit of banging and clattering going on in there, which Nick can only assume is going to result in some kind of disaster, possibly for his house, and probably for him. 

Louis turns up in the bedroom doorway two minutes later, naked, and still hard. 

"Nice knob," Nick says, for want of something better to say. 

"This old thing," Louis says, waving a hand in the general direction of his dick. "Come on. Over here, love. I've run us a bath."

"Do I even have bath stuff?" Nick asks, which is a genuine question, bearing in mind he's had a bath plumbed in in two subsequent bathroom refits, and there's a good chance he never used the first one from installation to removal. This one he might have used. Once. Maybe twice. 

"Nicholas," Louis says. "You have everything. You have a bigger range of stuff for the bath than fucking _Boots_ , and quite clearly you never use any of it. You're ridiculous. Now stop being a wanker, and come over here and let me look after you."

Nick does as he's told, and follows Louis down the landing to the bathroom. Heaven knows how he's got the room as hot and as steamy as this in only a few minutes, but the mirrors are all steamed up, and the bath is full of bubbles. 

"Now," Louis says. "Get in and I'll give you a shoulder massage."

"Are you getting in with me?" Nick knows that he's whining, but he can't help it. He's so tired, and Louis is so lovely, and he's got to go away for the whole weekend and not see him for ages. Ages. He doesn't get back until Tuesday evening. 

"Stop being needy," Louis tells him. "I'm getting in too. After the massage. You need to relax."

Nick pouts. He's allowed to pout; he's tired. "Get in with me," he says. "Please."

Louis looks at him with narrowed eyes for a long time, and Nick makes an exaggerated sad face until Louis snorts. "Fine, I suppose I could reach your shoulders better in there anyway."

He climbs in first, keeping a hold on Nick's arm to stop himself slipping. Nick was planning on stepping in behind him, but Louis scoots all the way to the back and spreads his legs, so Nick settles down between them, his back to Louis's chest. The water is so hot it hurts for a few seconds, but it feels so good, leeching cold he didn't know was there right out of him. Louis's turned on the sound system set into the wall on the other side of the room and put on _What's The Story, Morning Glory_. The bubbles smell of lavender—always good for helping to relax—and Louis's feet resting on Nick's shins and his still-hard cock pressing into Nick's back are strangely soothing. He scoots way down so that his head rests on Louis's chest and closes his eyes. Louis's fingers draw circles over his temples and down to his neck.

This is nice. This is exactly what he needed.

"Sit up," Louis says bossily, nudging him with his foot. "You need a massage."

"This is nice."

Louis kicks him again. "I'm not the terrible enabler you are, Nicholas. Besides, I'm quite good at massages. I took a course in it."

Intrigued, Nick slowly sits up, turning to regard Louis with a raised eyebrow. "You took a course?"

"Yes. My mum won two places in the raffle at the twins' school last year, so I went with her to this fancy spa and we learned all about massage therapy and aromatherapy and how to use your hands."

"I can vouch for your hands," Nick says.

"Shut up." Louis pokes him in the side. "Lean forward a bit."

Louis wasn't lying. He gives an _incredible_ massage. Better than any of the ones Nick goes and gets regularly, but he may be biased. He has a preference for these particular hands on him, perhaps. Louis's hands are small in comparison to Nick's, but powerful, and he hums quietly along with the song as he works all the knots out of Nick's neck and shoulders and the parts of his back still above the water. When he's finished with that he washes Nick's hair, proceeding to give him the best scalp massage he's ever received, and by the time he's all rinsed, Nick's boneless, utterly relaxed, and quite hard.

"How's that, love?" Louis asks, fingertips trailing down from Nick's hair, over his neck, and coming to rest on his shoulders. He leans in and presses his mouth to Nick's cheek. "Feel better?"

"Uh-huh," Nick manages, because anything other than vowel sounds seem to have slipped away from him. He still has his eyes closed, floating gently in the water, only Louis's hands keeping him grounded. He's utterly, utterly relaxed. "Do I have to go to Milan?"

"Think so," Louis says, hands sliding down over his shoulders, down towards Nick's stomach, thumbs brushing over his nipples. "Sort of think you might have to."

"Nah," Nick says, and he doesn't want to open his eyes, wants to stay here with his back pressed up against Louis's chest, the gentle insistent pressure of Louis's dick against the curve of his bum. "I'm the boss. Just going to stay here. With you."

Louis kisses his cheek. "I've got lectures, Daddy. And a job."

Nick's dick does a little twitch at that. 

"Ha," Louis says, far too close to Nick's ear. He bites down gently on the lobe. "You like that. Daddy."

"It was the mention of hard work," Nick refutes. "Nothing gets me hard like you working hard."

"I'll remember that," Louis murmurs, teeth nipping at his ear. Nick still doesn't open his eyes, not even when Louis slides his hand around Nick's dick, and squeezes. "Don't say anything, Daddy. It's my turn to look after you, tonight."

The bubbles are too thick to be able to see anything, but Louis's hand wrapped around Nick's dick is loose and teasing. He grazes his fingers up and down the shaft and cups Nick's balls in his other hand. Nick opens his legs as much as he can, relaxing into Louis's arms around him. Louis tongues at his earlobe, his breathing deep and even, the wet ends of his hair dripping onto Nick's shoulders.

"D'you know what got me off so hard this morning that I couldn't wait for your permission, Daddy?" Louis asks, his voice soft, audible only because of how close to Nick's ear his mouth is.

"What, baby?" Nick murmurs. He pushes his hips up a bit, everything delayed by the water. Louis's hand fits firmly around the base and holds there. Nick can feel his pulse throb in his cock, pleasure washing over him in lazy waves. Louis hums quietly, rolling Nick's balls in his palm.

"Was thinkin' about you fucking me, Daddy. Was on my hands and knees playing with my—with my hole—just imagining it was you. What it'll feel like when you fuck me."

"Jesus," Nick breathes, clenching his eyes shut now, pre-come blurting into the bath water.

"And maybe I'm pretty for you, yeah? In pretty pink knickers with a pink bow, like you said, and you have to push them out of the way to get inside me."

"Jesus Christ," Nick manages. "Louis."

"Would you do that for me?" Louis asks, still nipping at Nick's ear with his teeth. There's a terrible possibility that there are going to be teethmarks, and Nick is going to have to go to Milan with them there for everyone to see. He's normally the possessive one, the one wanting to leave marks, but he really, really wants Louis to mark him up, mark him as Louis's just as much as Louis belongs to him. "Would you make me all pretty and then fuck me messy? I'd make such a mess of those knickers, Daddy. I'd leak all over them, make them wet. Come in them."

Just the idea of it. The _idea_. Nick rolls his hips up, his dick sliding wetly in Louis's fist. 

"Please, Daddy," Louis says. "Please say I can make them messy and you'll fuck me. Will you, Daddy? That's all I've been thinking about. That's why I was so naughty."

"My naughty boy," Nick tells him, scrambling in the water for Louis's other hand, lacing their fingers together. "I'll fuck you, baby. You'll be so pretty. Even when you come in them, you'll be so pretty. I'll make you keep them on afterwards, stay a pretty mess."

"Are you going to come, Daddy? Are you going to come for me?" Louis's hand is hard and fast on Nick's dick, and Nick is sweaty and floating and so far away from himself that he has to squeeze Louis's hand to remind himself he's here. He's boneless and hot and so close to coming that he ruts up into Louis's fist. 

"Louis—"

"Come on, Daddy," Louis says, hand a blur on his dick. His nail catches the underside of Nick's dick, and that's it--that's enough, that's the end. Nick starts to come, the water going everywhere, over the side of the bath and down onto the bath mat, Louis's arm snaking around his waist and holding him tight, pinning Nick to him.

Nick is breathless and desperate and coming all over Louis's fist. Christ. 

Nick's breathing hard, sweaty in the soapy water. Louis takes a shower puff from the basket full of them on the tall ledge and wets it, and scrubs over Nick's belly and chest and shoulders, down between his legs where Nick's sensitive.

"Good Daddy," Louis murmurs. Nick huffs a laugh and reaches behind himself to grip Louis's hair, turning his head to catch his mouth. Louis's eager, mouth soft and open, dick still hard against Nick's bum. They kiss and kiss and kiss until they're both breathless, and Nick is so relaxed and sleepy and Louis's skin is _so_ soft it's making him sleepier. Louis prods him gently in the stomach. "None of that. We have to make it to your bed first."

"Mm," says Nick helpfully.

He reluctantly lifts himself out of the water, and even allows Louis to pat him dry with a big fluffy towel. Louis leads them into the bedroom, but Nick keeps stopping to press him into the wall and kiss him, reaching down to grip his dick with no real intent, just to feel it hot and hard in his hand until Louis shoves him away. They crawl underneath the sheets of Nick's bed and Nick immediately draws Louis close into his arms, tucked into his chest. He's so soft, and he smells so good. Nick kisses his neck, the mark he left there on the weekend fading, so he purples it up again. "Let me make you come," he murmurs, rubbing his hand down Louis's abdomen, over the tiny swell of his tummy, thumbing the scar that slides into the coarse curls at the base of his cock.

"Tomorrow," Louis says, squirming a bit. He tucks his head underneath Nick's chin and latches his mouth onto one of Nick's nipples, teething until it's hard and Nick is just lazily, sleepily aroused. Louis's voice is a bit gruff. "In the morning. I want to hold it tonight. Please."

"Fine," Nick says, too sleepy to ask questions. He curls around Louis, already almost asleep, and Louis settles himself in Nick's arms, possessive and in control. 

"Go to sleep," Louis says, kissing his cheek. "I'll still be here in the morning."

Nick closes his eyes, almost entirely asleep already. When he wakes up in the morning, Louis is still there, nestled against his side, holding him close. 

He can't help but smile. 

~*~

When Louis wakes up, Nick asks if he'd like to come over and look after Puppy whilst he's away. 

Louis beams at him, and nods. 

~*~

Nick's plane back to London is late landing, which would be approximately the most annoying thing ever under normal circumstances, but is even more annoying because Nick had got a text message from Louis when he was waiting in the first class lounge in Milan that just said, _would you mind if i came and met you at heathrow?_

Louis is never shy, is the thing, but the past twenty-four hours he's been tentative and a little nervous, sending pictures of Puppy once an hour on the hour, but not much else. 

Nick had sent him one back that just said, _yes please love xxx_ and Louis had sent him five smiley faces in a row after that. 

So the fact that his plane has been circling Heathrow for the last half an hour is not lending itself to maintaining Nick's good mood. 

They land, finally, and Nick sweeps through the blue _EU Nationals_ customs gate with a bag full of expensive vodka, some aftershave he'd liked the look of, and a British Airways teddy bear he'd named Clive, which he sort of hoped either Louis or Puppy would appreciate in one way or another. 

Milan had been perfect. Everything went even more splendidly than Nick was hoping it would. Margaret got a lot of good networking, their fashion line is going to be a prominent feature at Milan Fashion Week under Henry's watchful eye, and business is booming. The only thing that could make it better is currently over at a table in a coffee shop in the arrivals area, standing on a chair to see over the throng of people coming through the gate, Puppy in his arms and a huge, beaming sunlight smile on his face when he sees Nick. Nick's heart feels too big for his chest, his whole body thrumming, and this isn't the way he's supposed to react to someone he's only been going out for a little over the week. It's all thoroughly unreasonable.

He heads over, hand luggage in hand, and Louis stands up carefully. Puppy launches into Nick's arms and licks him all over his face but Louis looks momentarily shy, stepping back, until Nick pulls him in by the red scarf he bought him and hugs him tight, Puppy caught awkwardly between them.

"Louis," he murmurs into Louis's ear, pressing a kiss there. "Hi."

"Missed you," Louis says at once. His fingers are digging into Nick's back. "Missed you loads. How was your flight?"

"Fine," Nick says, "Everything is fine. Better now. Missed you so much, little one. So glad you came to meet me."

Louis looks so pleased and flushed, colour bright in his cheeks. "Yeah?"

"'Course," says Nick. Puppy is squirming, so Nick sets her on the ground and winds her lead around his wrist to keep her close, and then cups Louis's face in both hands and kisses him properly.

Louis responds softly at first, kiss just touching Nick's mouth, sweet and gentle. Nick tilts his face up to meet his, and smiles against his mouth as he kisses him again, properly this time, with intent. "Christ, I missed you."

"Thank fuck," Louis tells him, hands curving around Nick's wrists. "I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Me neither," Nick admits. He's fairly sure he shouldn't be admitting to any of this. He's aloof. He's distant. He's not particularly famed for his commitment. He's fallen for Louis. His heart feels like it's too big for his chest.

"Hey," Louis says. "Where's all your stuff? Did you leave it in Milan? Are you that rich that you can just leave entire suitcases behind?"

Nick glances down around him for a moment, at Puppy sitting by their feet, watching them with interest. "I pay my assistants an exorbitant amount of money," he says, making a very silly face at his dog. He's missed Puppy too. "I pay them a delicious bonus for coming away with me, and for that they get to wait at baggage claim and sort my bags out."

"That is so totally fucking obnoxious I don't even know what to do with myself," Louis says. "You can't be bothered to wait at baggage claim, oh my god. You actually pay people to carry your suitcases."

"I can go back through if you want," Nick says, pointing back towards the arrivals gates. He can't go back through, everyone knows that, but Louis just looks faintly exasperated.

"Nicholas," he says. "That is the most rich thing you've done, and it's rubbish. You are never too rich to deal with your own suitcase, oh my god."

"Aren't you secretly amazed by my wealth?" Nick asks, a little petulantly. Most people would be impressed by having someone to carry his bags for him, he's sure.

"No, I'm amazed by how lazy you are," Louis says, and for someone who's exasperated, he's doing a very good of nestling into Nick's front and kissing his jaw. He smells sweet and oddly familiar and like that mint shower gel he always smells of when he's just showered. He used to smell like it first thing in the morning, when Nick got into the café early.

"I've been terribly busy and important," Nick says, kissing the top of his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see a couple of members of his team coming out through the arrival gates. He should go and get his bags from them, but he's a very rich businessman, and anyway, he's got this lovely, lovely boy in his arms, so the bags can wait. "How's the house, anyway? Did you blow it up when I was away?"

Louis shrugs a bit. "It's fine, I think." He makes a bit of a face. "Felt weird being there by myself, so I took Puppy back to mine. That's okay, right?"

"I told you that you could stay, love," Nick says.

Louis just shrugs again, and won't meet his eyes. "It's fine," he says. "I had uni work to do, anyway. Didn't want to lug all my stuff on the tube or the bus or whatever."

Nick tilts Louis's chin up again. "Next time I say you can stay," he says, "I mean it. And we'll arrange it so we pick all your stuff up first, okay? You should have said something. I've got cars, or someone could have driven you."

"They couldn't," Louis says. "That's silly." He doesn't look like he thinks it's silly. He looks quite intrigued, but there's something else there in his expression too, something Nick can't read, closed off.

"Come on," Nick says. He tucks his hand into Louis's, and leans down to scoop Puppy up into the crook of his elbow, carry-on bag over his shoulder. "I've got a car waiting. Or I should do." He laughs at the surprise on Louis's face. "Come on, love, what did you expect? We'd get the tube?"

"Heathrow Express, I thought," Louis says. "Thought that would be pushing the boat out."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Nick says, and he squeezes Louis's hand. "Come on, baby. I've been thinking about you naked since Thursday morning."

Louis blushes at that, which is intriguing. Intriguing, and delightful, judging by the way he's ducking his gaze, cheeks pink. This boy. This lovely boy.

Nick had two people with him on the trip other than Margaret and Henry; a girl in her early twenties called Rita and a woman in her forties who Nick would be positively lost without called Madeline. They'd brought their people, too, and one of Madeline's team, a tall, mousy boy called Jordan, has Nick's luggage. Nick makes quick introductions. Louis is polite and sweet but obviously a bit shy, all the attention focused on him. Nick doesn't often bring his personal life to work, after all, and if he's a little proud to be showing off this gorgeous boy on his arm that's his business.

After, they walk out to the town car Nick has waiting. The driver today is Claude. Nick chats with him while he loads up the luggage. Puppy loves Claude more than most other humans, including Nick himself, so she immediately jumps into the passenger seat to spend the ride with him (and probably with her head out the window, spoilt dog that she is). Claude gives a booming laugh and scratches her ears. "She'll be all right with me," he promises.

"Just remember to give her back when we get home," Nick says, making a face at his dog. She licks his hand, and then Claude's. Claude walks around the car to get into the driving seat and Nick and Louis slide into the back. There's a partition up already – Claude is a good man – and Nick doesn't even have the grace to wait until they've started moving to pull Louis right into his lap.

Louis comes with a laugh. It's a rather roomy car today, so there's plenty of space to keep from bumping his head. He tightens his thighs on either side of Nick's and presses in close, fringe tickling Nick's forehead. He's wearing a jumper that is most definitely Nick's, a gorgeous Valentino that Nick's only ever worn once. It swallows him, hangs off his shoulder, and it's so sexy that Nick just wants to curl up and die. He presses a line of kisses all along the revealed skin. Louis's so warm, and soft, and his bum feels pert and big and lovely in Nick's hands when he cups him and pulls him in close. Louis's breathing is already a bit shaky, his fingers clutching at Nick's shirt.

"Nick, I want to. I should warn you."

"Warn me?" Nick asks, pulling back to see Louis's face. He's blushing fiercely. Nick has never seen him so red before. He's terribly intrigued. "What is it, love?"

"I, well," he shrugs. "I did something. Right after you left for the airport on Friday."

"What?" Nick asks.

"To be, like. To be pretty for you, Daddy, for when you got home."

It's like a Pavlovion response. Louis calls him 'Daddy' and Nick gets immediately half hard and is raring to go. His mind is racing. What could Louis have done? Is he in knickers? Nick pushes the jumper up and tugs at the waistband of his jeans, but those are definitely men's cotton briefs he's wearing. Louis turns even more fantastically red and takes Nick's hand. Nick is dying of curiosity.

"What'd you do, baby?" he asks, squeezing Louis's fingers. "What'd you do to make yourself pretty for Daddy?"

Louis ducks his head, nose wrinkling. "Maybe I should wait until we get to yours."

The only thing Nick is good at waiting for is his own orgasms. He likes that wait. In terms of every single other thing, he likes immediate gratification, and he hates waiting.

"Louis," he says, and it only sounds a bit like a whine. "Louis."

"Daddy," Louis says, curling in a little closer, open mouth pressed to his jaw. "Will we be home soon?"

"Not soon enough," Nick growls, and pushes at Louis's jumper. It's his jumper, he knows that. It's his, and that means Louis has been through his wardrobe. It makes him feel terribly warm inside.

That is, until Louis slaps his hand away. "Daddy," he says, reprovingly. "Surprises are for home."

Nick laughs at that. He has to. The apprentice has become the master, and all that. He slides his hands over the curve of Louis's bum, and doesn't sneak his thumbs underneath his jumper. "Fine, have it your way, little one. Tell me about your weekend instead. Was Puppy good?"

"She ate one of Liam's slippers," Louis says. "I gave her extra dog biscuits for that, those slippers were a disgrace. Who has slippers like that if they're still at uni? He's like a grandad sometimes, honestly."

"Louis," Nick says.

"It's all right. I put a post it note on Puppy's collar that just said, 'I'm very sorry, please don't hate me. PS your slippers were awful anyway'. I think he liked it."

"You're a terror," Nick says, trying to hide at least some of his delight away. "I have missed you."

Louis goes a delicious shade of pink at that.

Louis tells him about his weekend, which mostly consisted of playing with Puppy, ignoring coursework, and watching films with Harry. Nick tells Louis all about Milan and the parts of the city he'd like Louis to see, and the fashion scene there and about the less boring bits of his meetings. Nick's well-rested, feeling on top of the world, and Louis seems almost cat-like this evening, curling in against Nick and all but purring as Nick's strokes his hair and his back.

Claude helps him with the luggage once they're home, Louis disappearing into the depths of the house with Puppy on his heels. She's clearly holding a grudge against Nick, who went away without her. Once Claude's gone, Nick toes off his shoes and drops his bag next to his suitcase. 

"Lou?" Nick calls, leaving the hall and checking the living room before crossing into the kitchen. Louis's in there pouring wine, making himself quite at home. Again, Nick wonders why Louis didn't just stay here while he way away. He has no trouble nosing about in Nick's things.

"White or red?" Louis asks. "Megan helped me pick." Megan is Nick's housekeeper.

"Red," says Nick, smiling just watching him. When Louis walks around the island, he's stripped down to nothing but the over-long jumper of Nick's that lays halfway down his thighs. Nick takes his glass, and eyes Louis up and down hungrily. It takes him a shockingly long time to realise, with a jolt, that Louis's bare legs are smooth as can be. "Did you—?"

He can't even finish the sentence. Louis clears his throat, looking halfway between smug and nervous, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth. "I, um. I made an appointment for Friday after you left," he says. He leans over and rubs his hand over the full expanse of his calf. He's clearly nervous. It's so hot Nick feels like he's going to combust. "I got it like. All over."

"All over?" Nick croaks. It would be embarrassing and Louis even laughs at him, a little, but Nick is unapologetic and completely out of control of his reaction—both mental and physical—to what Louis's just told him.

"Yeah," Louis says, sipping at his wine. He's smug now. "Like, my chest and my pits and everywhere else. All gone now. 'm smooth. Feels really soft."

Nick's mouth is dry. "Everywhere else?" Nick is incapable of doing anything but repeating Louis's words right back at him in the form of a question.

Louis nods, holding his wine glass close to his chest. He looks small and so very lovely. "Everywhere."

Nick's mouth is dry. He can't quite—god. God. Louis, making himself smooth all over, so spectacularly pretty, fuck—

"I thought you might like it," Louis says, softly, and Nick realises he hasn't said anything. To be completely fair, he's mostly reduced to vowel sounds, even in his head, so anything actually out loud and coherent is probably pushing it. "Do you, Daddy? I'm smooth all over." He fingers catch in the hem of his jumper—Nick's, actually, not that Nick ever wants to wear it when it looks as good as it does on Louis—tangling a little, not actually lifting it enough to give Nick any kind of a real glimpse of what's underneath. 

"Do _you_ like it?" Nick asks. He puts his wine glass down on the counter, and steps closer. He touches at the sleeve, cuff between his finger and thumb, tugging it down a little, over Louis's hand. It's a silly place to start trying to get someone undressed. "God, you're beautiful." His voice catches, and he doesn't mean it to, not one little bit, but Louis is standing in his kitchen, Nick's jumper sliding off his shoulders, smooth all over and so, so lovely. His hair is messy and a bit sticky-up, cheeks pink from the wine. "You're so beautiful."

"Nick—" 

Nick slides his hands under Louis's jumper, over the soft, gentle curve of his stomach, taking the jumper with him as he runs his hands up Louis's sides, until he can stroke his fingertips over Louis's armpits, feeling him tremble beneath his touch. 

"I'm ticklish," Louis says, still trembling, and Nick leans in to kiss the corner of his mouth. 

He takes off Louis's jumper in between kisses, and Louis is naked in Nick's kitchen, smooth all over. Even his balls and the base of his cock and his abdomen are hair free, and Nick pulls him in, running his hands down over Louis's back until he's cupping his bum. 

"I got you something," Nick says, mouth pressed to Louis's ear. "Something pretty. Like we talked about."

God, Nick wants to touch him all over. With his mouth. His head is spinning. He squeezes Louis's plump bum and kisses his neck.

"Something. You mean the, um. The toy?" Louis asks, voice weak. 

Nick grins against his skin, kisses him one more time and pulls back to cup Louis's cheek, look into his eyes. "Yeah. Had it special made, just for you. Something pretty enough for my pretty boy."

Louis makes a quiet, choked sound and clutches at Nick's shirt, getting up onto his toes. He's hard already, so fast to respond, _such_ a good boy. "Where is it?"

Nick kisses his mouth quiet, nibbles on his bottom lip for a moment before pulling back, pleased to see it reddened. "I'll get it. Why don't you be a good boy and go upstairs, get into bed. On top of the duvet. None of that beautiful bare skin should be covered, should it?"

Louis flushes, shaking his head. "No, Daddy."

Nick pats him on the bum and Louis pulls away, takes both their wine glasses when Nick hands them over, and heads upstairs. Nick watches him go, smiling every time Louis looks back over his shoulder at him. He's so, so lovely. Nick's in way over his head. He waits until Louis disappears to hunch over, weak with how turned on he is, and press the heel of his hand into his crotch. He takes a couple deep breaths and then opens the fridge. There's a plate of fresh fruit and a box of chocolates that his housekeeper left with a note that says, _Thought your new friend might enjoy these._ Megan is a horrible enabler. Nick takes both the fruit and the chocolate and carries it into the living room.

Puppy is on her bed, with the teddy bear Nick bought from the airline in her mouth, already dozing. She must've had a very exciting day, being taken onto the tube and into the airport. Nick pats her head and rubs her ears for a moment, puts his plates on the table in the living room and crosses to the foyer and his luggage.

He pulls out a discreet black bag with a long, discreet black box inside. To anyone else it would look like a jewellery box, like he's about to present Louis a diamond necklace. He slides the box into his trouser pocket, grabs the sweets and fruit and goes upstairs. Louis's done as he's told. He's lying on Nick's huge bed, right in the middle, with his thighs parted and his dick pink and curved against his belly. He's hairless all over, completely bare and Nick can't wait to touch him, feel how soft he is. Louis watches him, still obviously a bit nervous, playing a little coy. He brings his hands up to tweak at his nipples as Nick approaches.

"Might need a bit of sustenance for what I've got planned for you, little one," he says casually, setting the food on the bedside table. Louis sits up, legs still spread wide, the bottoms of his little feet pressed together. Nick sits down on the edge of the bed and pulls the box out of his pocket. Louis inhales sharply, blue eyes going wide. "Do you want to see it?" Nick asks.

"Daddy," Louis breathes, and then Nick is passing him the box. He hooks his little finger into Louis's. 

"Open it, little one," Nick says, pressing the box a little closer. "See what I picked out for you."

The box is velvet lined, thick black velvet that probably cost more than Louis makes in a month. Nick isn't entirely sure how much the café pays Louis, but he is very aware of how much this package set him back. Lying in state is a pale pink vibrator, custom made at great expense because Nick had taken what Louis said on board, even if it was only a hint: he's tight, and apprehensive, and those scars came from somewhere. Vibrators tended to be thicker and ridged and curved or shaped; Nick had wanted one that was as tiny as a bullet vibrator, but longer. Slim and not in the least bit scary, and so, so pretty. It's so soft to the touch, tactile and gorgeous. 

Louis swallows. "A vibrator?" he asks. "For me?"

"For you," Nick confirms. "Did I pick the right one?"

Louis picks it up, and runs it over his hand. "It's so tiny," he says. "So thin."

"That's right," Nick says. He leans in to kiss Louis's temple, and then Louis is clambering into his lap and wrapping his arms around Nick's neck, pressing his mouth to Nick's jaw, his cheek, his mouth. 

"I missed you, Daddy," he says, kissing him again. "I didn't play with myself once when you were gone. Wanted to be Daddy's good boy. Didn't want to be naughty." He looks hopeful when he pulls back. "Am I a good boy, Daddy?"

"I've been gone since Friday morning," Nick says, in case he's been stupid and time and space have folded all in on themselves when he wasn't looking. "All that time, love? No touching? Even though you're as pretty this for me?"

"I've been good," Louis says again. "Wanted to." He blushes and leans in to whisper, "I got all hard and everything. But I didn't want to be naughty. Daddy's good little boy."

_Christ_ , Nick thinks. Christ. 

"Daddy's very best boy," Nick agrees, voice husky. He threads his fingers through Louis's hair and gets his other hand around Louis's thick cock. He must be desperate for it, 19 years old and been holding back for days. Louis whines and Nick swallows the sound, licks it out of Louis's mouth. He strokes him from tip to root and back again, and then coaxes Louis to lift up onto his knees so he can cup his balls. "Been so long, baby."

His balls must be tender, because Louis whimpers and his face screws up, and his hips pump into Nick's chest, dick hard against Nick's stomach. Nick rubs two fingers over Louis's hole and kisses his shoulder, his chest and then his little nipples, teasing at them both a bit. Nick wonders if he could make him come just from that, playing with his nipples until he can't take it anymore. Louis had admitted that they're sensitive, and was embarrassed about it, but Nick fucking loves the idea of it.

He rubs his hand over the swell of Louis's bum and up his back and Louis settles back into his arms, trembling with want. The vibrator's still laying on the bed next to its box, soft pink against the navy stripe of the duvet. Louis picks it up again and Nick watches, heart in his throat, as he fingers over it reverently. "Daddy?"

"Mm?"

"Can we. Will you. Will you show me how it works? Will you put it inside me?"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Nick kisses Louis, twisting them to lay Louis out on his back. Nick hovers over him, still fully dressed while Louis's all naked and bare and God, Nick's going to take him apart tonight. He's going to make him come again and again, and he's going to taste every single part of him. Louis's already trembling, already flushed all over. Nick rubs his belly and his chest, sweeps his hand down to feel the newly bare skin around the base of his cock. It's so, so fucking soft, softer than Nick ever dreamed. He tucks the fingers of his other hand into Louis's armpit, grinning when Louis lets out a startled, ticklish laugh. 

"Made yourself so pretty for me, baby, didn't you? Did such a good job. Did such a good job for Daddy. We'll do whatever you want tonight."

Louis whimpers at that, trying to press closer, foot curling around Nick's calf as Nick attempts to take his clothes off. "Daddy," he says breathlessly. "Daddy, please. I've been so good. I haven't touched myself once. I waited for you, Daddy." 

Naked, Nick leans in to press his mouth to the smooth, soft skin of Louis's inner thigh. "My good boy," he says. "My good, good boy. Waiting like Daddy asked you to."

Louis is trembling now, fingers catching in Nick's sheets. "Touch me, Daddy."

Nick slides his hand between Louis's legs, and presses the pad of his finger to Louis's hole. He'll be smooth and pink and hairless there, too, and just the thought of Louis doing all of this, for him, is enough to make his dick pulse. He strokes his fingertip around the rim, Louis's breath catching. "How about if I lick you?" he asks. "Get you all wet before we slide your tiny vibrator in, huh? Would you like that? Daddy's mouth on you?"

Louis nods at that, a little jerkily. He turns onto his front easily, and Nick positions him so that his dick is peeking out from between his legs. He spreads Louis's cheeks, the little pink hole just there, and waiting. He runs his thumbs down the criss-cross of scars down Louis's thighs, even as he's leaning in and licking at Louis's hole. He presses his tongue inside, spit-slick and intent, and Louis whimpers, trying to push back against his tongue. 

"I'm so tight," Louis says, breathless. "Daddy, I'm so tight."

He is, he really is. Nick rubs the pad of his finger over Louis's spit-wet hole, licking around it, Louis trembling down and around his touch. He wants him wet and desperate even before he reaches for the lube; he wants to finger Louis open until he's begging for the vibrator, until he's not worried about being too tight, until he's ready and wanting and needy. 

"Daddy," Louis begs. "Daddy, please. I want you inside. Your fingers, please."

Nick reaches for the lube he'd picked up at the same time as the vibrator. He coats his fingers with it, and then strokes three fingers around Louis's rim, lube going everywhere. 

Louis bucked down against the sheets. "Daddy," he breathes. "Daddy, please."

"You can come whenever you need to, love,” Nick murmurs, mouthing over Louis's shoulder blade. He slides his middle finger in so, so slow, so turned on by how tight Louis is, and Louis comes with a sob, all over his inner thighs and Nick's expensive duvet. 

"God," he gasps. "God, Daddy, please, please, please."

"So beautiful," Nick tells him, watching his finger push inside, sinking in slowly. He pulls it back and pushes it in again, a bit harder, and Louis groans low and deep and pushes his hips back into it. He's still hard, and Nick wants to see his prick better, so he pulls his finger out and grips Louis's hips. "C'mere, love, like this." He guides him around until Louis's got his knees folded up underneath him, legs spread as wide as they can be, thighs against his torso. His bum is spread wide like this and Nick palms one cheek and pulls it away to see Louis's wet, clenching hole. Nick's cock is hanging between his legs, needy, tip dragging on the bed. Nick fists it in his left hand and sinks his index finger into Louis again. Louis's panting, little whines breaking past his lips. He's sweaty and red and has his face buried in his arms. He's embarrassed and Nick doesn't know why he finds that so hot.

"Daddy," Louis gasps. " _Daddy_ more, please, I need. I'm so tight."

"So tight," Nick agrees, words mumbled against Louis's bum. He tastes like lube but Nick doesn't mind, can't keep himself from sliding his tongue in deep along with his finger, which he hooks until Louis cries out, startled. Nick strokes his finger over Louis's prostate again and again, closing his lips over Louis's wet hole, tongue-fucking him while Louis sobs into his arms and shoves back into Nick's face.

Nick is going to take him to pieces. He's going to take him to pieces, over and over, and he's going to do it time and time again, and it's all he wants and more. He slides his finger out of him, going back to just his tongue as he's squeezing out more lube, wanting to make sure that Louis is dripping with it, inside and out, to make such a mess of him that he doesn't know whether he's coming or going, and then he's sliding his finger back inside, pad of his finger stroking over Louis's prostate even as he's shifting to nip his teeth into the curve of Louis's arse, Louis crying out and pressing back against his mouth. 

Louis's cock is leaking, heavy and hard, and Nick wants to make him come again. He keeps on stroking him, Louis shuddering beneath him, and Nick shifts position, fingers rubbing against Louis's hole as he crawls up the bed, to where Louis's cheek is resting against the pillow and he's panting breathlessly into Nick's stupidly expensive sheets. Louis's eyes are so, so bright, and it takes him a moment to kiss Nick back as Nick touches his mouth to Louis's. 

"You can come whenever you want, sweetheart. As much as you want, whenever you want to, tonight. My good, good boy. My pretty boy." He kisses him again. His lips are dry. 

"Want you back inside me," Louis tells him. His voice sounds thick. "Miss you. Love that."

Nick thinks, _love you_ , almost without permission. He kisses Louis again, then, unable to help himself, and Louis must be tasting himself in Nick's kiss, and Nick just kisses him harder. "Missed you. Missed you," he says, and Louis chases him for another kiss. 

He's so utterly out of control, here. Louis's come to mean so, so much to him. It’s all so fast. It doesn’t feel wrong. Nick kisses him again, and again, until his lungs feel about to burst from lack of air. He slides his finger back inside Louis, who keens, but just a moment before he's pulling it out again.

"Think you can take another, pet?" he asks, and Louis mewls and nips at Nick's chin. "Think you can take two inside you?"

"Want it," Louis rasps. "Want all of it. All of you."

Christ. Nick gets to his knees, rubbing his hands over the scars that litter Louis's back. "Flip over, my good boy. I want to see your face."

Louis is bright red, and so turned on. His cock is so hard and red and wet, pre-come slick across the tip. He turns over slowly, lets Nick guide him around because he likes to be handled (and it's just too hot for Nick to bear). "With my knees up like this, Daddy?" Louis asks, little hiccup of sound spilling past his lips. He puts his feet flat on the bed and opens his legs up wide, tugging on his cock like he can't help himself. Nick nods, settling between his legs.

"Just like that, love. Look so fucking good, babe, all spread open for me, little hole all wet. Are you wet for Daddy?"

Louis covers his face with his hand, kiss-bruised lips trembling. He lets go of his cock to pinch at his nipples, humping up into the air uselessly, lovely arse lifting off the bed. "Wet," he agrees. "Wet and messy for you, Daddy. Are you gonna put your fingers in me again?"

"God, you're so pretty, love," Nick says, shifting position a little so that he can stroke two slick, wet fingers over Louis's hole. "You're so pretty, all soft and smooth for me." He presses the tip of his finger inside, and Louis whimpers, trying to push down against him. Nick doesn't relent. "You want me inside you?"

"Daddy," Louis begs, and he pinches at his nipples again, wretched, wriggling on the sheets. "Need you, please. Inside me." Nick crooks a finger inside of him, sneaking in a second finger around the first. He's so, so tight. 

"How's that feel, baby? Two of Daddy's fingers."

Louis pushes down against him, whimpering. "Please, Daddy," he begs. "Please, please."

Nick strokes at Louis's dick with his other hand, wrapping his fist around him. He's so wet. "You like that, little one? Daddy taking over? Daddy looking after you?" 

Louis cries out at that, trying to grab at him, covering Nick's hand on his dick with his own. "Wanted to play with myself so badly," he manages. "Every night, Daddy. All the time."

"You were such a good boy, love," Nick tells him, overwhelmed at the idea of Louis holding off for so long. "Such a good boy. Daddy's going to make you come so much. Show you how good you are."

They stroke Louis off together, two of Nick's fingers buried deep inside him and rubbing over his prostate, gently stretching him open. He comes with a little gasp all over his tummy, so much this time that Nick can't tear his eyes away from it. He's held off for so long, and Nick's so very proud indeed.

"That's it," he praises, leaning in for a kiss, still fucking into Louis with his fingers. "That's my good, good boy, coming so well for Daddy."

"Feels," Louis gasps, sweaty and red. "Feels so good, Daddy, please!" He probably doesn't know what he's begging for, but he's shoving down onto Nick's fingers even though he's softening, and his arse tightens around Nick's hand again and again. He's so gorgeous, so willing and open and honest like this, and all Nick's. 

"God, I missed you so much," Nick says again. "You've got no idea. Missed making you come for me."

"Didn't come without you," Louis says, his voice rough and hazy. "Didn't. Promise."

"I know you didn't. You're so good, Lou. Mine, so good for me. I'm going add another finger now, all right?"

"Mm," Louis says. He's a bit more relaxed now, after coming twice. His legs splay open wider and Nick nuzzles the inside of his thigh, shocked again at how smooth it is, how very soft it is. Nick's so hard it hurts, tucked away in his trousers, and he's starting to sweat through his shirt. He grabs the lube again and squeezes more all over Louis's hole and Nick's hand. He's so wet and slippery there. His heavy-lidded eyes are on Nick, his chest rising and falling quickly as he catches his breath. Nick waits for him to come down completely before gently tucking in a third finger.

Louis's back arches, and his eyes go wide. Nick pauses with just the tip of his ring finger inside to the first knuckle. He kisses Louis's thigh and his belly and all along his cock. "All right, little one?"

"Y-yeah," Louis breathes. "Just so. Feels so tight."

"You are. You're so tight. Feels so good around me," Nick soothes, slowly—so very slowly—sliding his finger the rest of the way inside. Louis lets out a breath with a little whimper. He's so hot inside. "Such a good boy."

"Are you—" Louis starts, and has to trail off to bite his lip, his dick fattening up again. "Are you going to put your cock inside me, Daddy? Are we going to be naughty?"

"Yes, love," Nick says, trying to imagine what it would feel like to have Louis—so tight, and so hot, and so very wet—around his cock. "I'm going to slide on in, gentle as anything, love. You'll be so beautiful, baby." He keeps on fucking Louis with his fingers, sliding them in and out, stretching him so, so carefully. There's lube everywhere, and he's getting it all over his trousers, and he needs to take his clothes off, but he just—he can't. He can't. "Going to get you all ready with your pretty little vibrator first. Slide that inside you."

"Daddy," Louis's voice catches, and Nick is overwhelmed by how close it sounds to a sob. "Daddy, please." His cock is twitching a little, still leaking even as he gets hard again, for a third time, and Louis is such a mess. He's wrecked already, come streaked across the lovely curve of his tummy, sweaty and sticky and flushed all over. He's so, so smooth. He's so pretty. 

"You're my pretty boy," Nick tells him, reaching for the vibrator. "So pretty," he says, squeezing yet more lube out and getting it all over the sheets because he's doing it one handed. He crooks his fingers inside of Louis, and Louis rocks his hips up, even as he's gently swapping his fingers for the slick, easy slide of the vibrator inside of him. 

"Oh god," Louis sobs, scrabbling for Nick's hand, and everything is wet, and sticky, and so, so hot. "Daddy, Daddy. Please."

Nick squeezes his hand, and turns the vibrator onto its lowest setting. 

Louis cries out, back arching up off the sheets, sobbing out Nick's name as Nick presses the little vibrator up inside of him, pre-come everywhere, and Nick is amazed— _amazed_ —because this will be the third fucking time and Louis is incredible. He's fucking incredible. 

"Oh," Louis pants, clutching at the bed sheets. "Oh, oh, _oh_."

Nick fucks the vibrator into him so slowly, the setting on low, just a rumble inside, buzzing against his fingers. "Baby?"

"Nn," Louis says, struggling to open his eyes. He looks so hazy and fucked out, cock twitching. Nick presses down on his belly to feel the vibrator moving inside him from the outside and Louis chokes out a sob, eyes getting wet, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead. Nick takes Louis's hand and kisses the knuckles, the fingers, the palm, the inside of Louis's wrist, and then guides it down between his legs and wraps it around the base of the vibrator.

"Hold it just like this, baby. I'm gonna turn it up a bit, and then get undressed."

Louis nods shakily, blinking up at Nick with absolute trust, and it's so amazing that Nick just has to kiss him. He twists Louis's hand on the base to turn the vibrator to the second setting and Louis cries out again, raw and loud and so honest. He's shaking all over, eyes closed, lovely mouth open and wet and lax, tears caught in his eyelashes. "Daddy," he croaks.

"Right here, little one. Hold still for Daddy now, okay?" Nick stands up shakily and takes his clothes off as fast as humanly possible without tearing his eyes off of his boy. Louis's doing so good, staying so still as his pretty toy shakes inside him. Louis moans out loud when Nick's dick springs free, slapping against his belly, already slick with pre come. Nick takes a moment to pull a condom out of the bedside drawer before he gets back on the bed, stretching out next to Louis. 

He takes over handling the vibrator, gently pushing Louis's hand out of the way. He draws it almost all the way out and pushes it back in, fucking Louis in slow, smooth thrusts while Louis shakes. He'll come just like this, Nick is sure of it, and Nick kisses his open mouth, pressing his other hand to Louis's belly to feel it shake inside him again. 

"Close, Daddy," Louis rasps. He clutches at Nick's hair, rocking his hips up to meet each of the toy's thrusts. "I'm so close."

"You're doing so well, love," Nick tells him, kissing him again. Louis doesn't kiss back, not really, breaths catching against Nick's tongue, open mouthed and desperate. "I'm so proud of you. Daddy is so, so proud of you. You're such a good boy." 

Louis cries then, choked-up and almost at the edge, and Nick presses back in with the vibrator, changing the angle ever so slightly so that Louis whines, hand caught in Nick's hair. 

"I'm here, little one," Nick says. "You can come whenever you want, sweetheart." Louis is shaking apart in front of him, gaze dark, breath hitching, his toes curling in the sheets. Pre-come stripes his tummy, his cock so, so red. He doesn't even need to be touched. He's going to come like this, for Nick, and there is far too much going on inside of Nick's chest right now. His heart feels ready to pound right out of him, and he's not even the one who's about to come again. 

"Daddy," Louis sobs, and then he's coming again, cock twitching with every pulse beat. Nick keeps on fucking him with the vibrator until Louis is properly crying, hiding his face in Nick's neck and holding on for dear life, begging him not to stop. His words slur into each other, and it's all Nick can do to get the vibrator off and bundle Louis up into his arms, wrapping up into a tight embrace as Louis's breath catches against his skin. "Want you inside me," Louis begs, "Please, Daddy, please, please." He's shaking, leaving finger-shaped bruises on Nick's arms, and his eyes are bright. "Please, Daddy. Want your cock. I'm a good boy, Daddy. _Please_."

Nick hushes him gently, so hard he might actually explode. He moves the vibrator out of the way and eases Louis down onto the bed again, onto his back so Nick can see his face, tear streaked and red-cheeked. His mouth is swollen and pink and wet and he's covered in his own come and he's so fucking gorgeous. Nick kisses him, slow and soft, trying to calm him down because he wants this to last and last and last.

"Daddy," Louis mewls, when Nick finds one of his hands and laces their fingers together, lowering himself on top of him. Louis legs wrap around his waist, and Nick ruts gently against him, bare cock shoving into the crease of Louis's arse. "Nick, Nick, please, fuck me, take me, fill me up, please, _please_."

"Right here, baby," Nick answers, his voice rough, throat inexplicably tight and sore. He kisses Louis's cheek and neck, both his nipples and his belly button as he pulls back. Louis is lax and wrecked, already getting hard again between them. Nick palms his cock and kisses the tip, swallows him down to feel him in the back of his throat and Louis keens, back arching, heels digging into Nick's hips. Nick dips his fingers into Louis's crack again, slips three back inside him. He needs to get a condom on, needs to slick up, but he doesn't want to stop touching Louis long enough to do it.

Louis is still tight around his fingers, but he's so slick, wet and dripping with lube, and Nick can't help but press his mouth to the soft, smooth curve of his inner thigh, moving down far enough that he can see his three fingers inside of him. "God, you're fucking amazing," Nick tells him. "You're so beautiful, love."

"Nick, please--" Louis reaches for him, digging his fingers into Nick's wrist. "I can't—I just want you—inside, please. Please, Nick."

Nick nods jerkily, sitting back, sliding his fingers out of him. He wipes them on the sheet so that he can get the condom on, fingers trembling, and he wishes—even though he's never wished this before, not with anyone else before Louis—that there wasn't a need for the condom. That he could go in bare, feel Louis hot and tight around him, slick wet and clenching. It's almost enough to tip him over the edge, but instead he lines himself up, cock pressed up against Louis's hole, Nick slicking lube down the length. 

Louis cries as Nick pushes in, sobs and squeezes Nick's hand so hard it hurts, and for a moment Nick is terrified, like he's on the edge of a precipice and he's going to fall. But then Louis sobs out a _please, Nick, more_ , and Nick steadies himself with a hand to Louis's thigh. He's trembling beneath him, so far past desperate that he's somewhere else entirely, tiny shivers running the whole length of his body. "Move," Louis begs. "Daddy— _Nick_ —please. Want you so much. Fuck me, please."

And Nick does, sliding inside of him and back out again, Louis so tight around his dick that Nick's almost ready to come from that alone. 

It won't last long like this, can't, Nick feels like he's been on edge for hours. He grips Louis's hip with one hand and squeezes his hand with the other, shoving into Louis again and again. Louis's eyes are clenched shut, his free hand over his face. Nick nudges it out of the way with his nose and kisses him and Louis kisses him back fiercely, threading his fingers tight into Nick's hair. 

Louis's so warm inside, and so unbearably tight, just pulling Nick in over and over. Nick's balls slap against Louis's bum with every thrust, and the sound of it, of _them_ , the two of them locked together is so slick and hot and dirty and gorgeous.

"Feel so good, Lou,” Nick groans, dropping his forehead to Louis's collarbone. He parts his knees a bit more to get better leverage and fucks into Louis deeper. It must hit the right angle, because Louis cries out hoarsely and clutches at Nick's back and hand, blunt fingernails digging in. "God, you feel so fucking good, so tight for me. Made just for me, aren't you?"

Louis clamps down around him, panting into Nick's ear, legs locked around Nick tight. He's gone with pleasure, his whole body writhing. "God, God, Nick, wish. Wish it was just you. Wish I could feel just you, skin, God you feel—want you to come inside me. Want you to fill me up. Want to be full of you all the time."

Nick has to slow down, stop buried balls deep in Louis's perfect arse or this will all be over.

"We—" Nick's voice catches. He tries to clear his throat, but he's balls deep in Louis and he's in fucking love. "We can do that," he says, fucking into him as slowly as he can manage, trying to hold off. He drags his mouth over Louis's throat, tilting his head back so he can kiss his jaw, his throat, the corner of his mouth. "I'll fill you up, love. I'll fuck you over and over. You'll be so full."

"Want that so much," Louis can't keep still; he's shaking with want, with need, his dick trapped up between them, slick and hard against Nick's stomach. "Please, I want to come, I'm going to come, please—"

Nick buries his face in Louis's neck. "You're mine," he manages, his orgasm trembling across his skin, fingertips digging into Louis's arms. "You're mine, Louis. All fucking mine."

Louis ruts up against him, desperate. "I am." His voice is fucked up. "Yours," he gasps, and then he's coming again, his dick pulsing against the curve of Nick's stomach, and Nick kisses him as he starts to come too, mouth pressed to Louis's as his orgasm shudders through him, desperate and perfect and never-fucking-ending. 

Afterwards, when he tries to pull out of him, Louis grabs his wrist. "No," he says, words slurring a little. "Stay. Want you in me."

Nick's dick twitches weakly inside Louis. This boy is too much for him. It's gonna kill him. 

He stays inside Louis for as long as he can, and they kiss again and again, exhausted and sweaty and overwhelmingly sweet. Louis's fingers draw pictures on Nick's back and Nick smears Louis's come into his tummy again. He's such a fucking mess, they'll need to bathe before they can sleep, but Nick loves to see him like this, wrecked and messy, chasing after Nick's kisses.

Louis groans when Nick slowly pulls out, and flops bonelessly down on the bed. Nick gets rid of the condom, thighs still burning. Louis watches him through heavy-lidded, sleepy eyes and gives a little kitten mewl and arches his back. Nick collapses next to him and gathers him into his arms, settling Louis's body on top of himself. Louis's heavy and warm and it's too fucking hot for this, but Nick wants him close, wants to feel his heart pounding.

"Missed you," he says again, because he can't say _I love you_. Louis nuzzles at his neck and jaw.

"Missed you too. Glad you're back."

Nick hums and runs his hands over Louis's back, down to his bum. He spreads him open and lets his thumbs tease at Louis's hole. Louis hisses, pushing back into it, and Nick sinks two fingers back inside him. Louis groans, sounding pleased. He just loves being full. Nick's going to have to buy so many toys for him, make sure he's never empty. 

"Sore?" Nick asks him.

"A bit. Hear it's like that, though, the first time."

"First time?" Nick repeats, breath all caught in his throat. Louis lifts his head, blushing fiercely, looking shifty. Jesus _Christ_.

"Yeah," Louis says, finally. He looks fierce and awkward and a little defensive, too. 

"You had a boyfriend who fucked you senseless," Nick says, and it feels weird to be carrying out this conversation with his fingers still tucked inside of Louis's bum, but there isn't a non-awkward way of removing them without it being a thing, and anyway, his heart's beating too fast for him to think too much of anything else. "I remember, because I was so jealous I wanted to kick something. Did you—Lou—"

"I lied," Louis says, and he looks terribly small all of a sudden, and _inexperienced_ , and Nick doesn't know what to do with that. He settles for tucking Louis's hair away from his face.

"Why'd you do that, sweetheart?" he asks finally. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I fucked him," Louis says, and there's that stab of jealousy again, the thrum of _mine_ that Nick can't stop. "I only ever did the fucking."

Nick doesn't know what to say to that, so he just—doesn't. He strokes Louis's hair away from his face again. It won't stay where Nick puts it. 

"I never trusted anyone enough," Louis says softly. "I was always too scared."

Whoever did this to Louis, whoever hurt him enough to cause the kind of lasting scars, inside and out that Louis has—Nick wants to hurt them. He wants to make sure that they're somewhere far enough away that Louis never, ever has to be scared again. He wants to protect him. "You weren't scared this time, were you?" Nick tries to make it sound casual, but his heart is pounding. He gently slides his fingers out of Louis's bum. 

Louis shakes his head. "No," he says. He very carefully tucks his fingers into Nick's, and Nick brings their joined hands up to his mouth so he can press his lips to the back of Louis's hand. "I wasn't scared at all."

Nick nods. "You'd tell me, though? If you ever were?" It's sort of a make or break type question, even though Nick's not entirely sure he'd be capable of _break_. 

"I'll be fine," Louis says. "I am fine."

"I love you," Nick says, because it's the only thing in his head at the moment, the only thing in his heart. It's the only thing he can think about. Louis isn't fucking fine, and Nick doesn't know what to do to make him okay. "I'm in love with you."

Louis's breath stutters. "Nick—"

"You don't have to say anything," Nick says. "It's all right."

Louis wriggles in his lap, hiding his face in Nick's neck. "Want your fingers," he says. "Please, Nick." He presses his bum back into Nick's hand. "Please. I need you inside."

Nick hushes him gently, kisses his neck and his mouth, and then eases Louis off of him so he can get up. "C'mon, pet, I think it's bath time."

Louis hefts himself off the bed too. His legs are a little weak and he's got come all over him. Nick wraps his arms around him and kisses him again, and again. Before they walk in a tangle to the bathroom, Louis's pulls another condom out of the bedside table drawer. God, Nick just loves him.

Louis fills the bath again, because he's much better at it and shoves Nick out of the way when Nick tries to read the instructions on the bubble bath bottle. Nick steps in first once it's full, almost too hot to be comfortable until it envelops him and then just incredibly soothing. He helps Louis in after with a tight grip on his hand and his hip. "Easy, babe."

"Think you fucked me stupid," Louis says, sounding a bit groggy. Nick laughs and eases him down onto his lap, until Louis's bum is nestled against Nick's crotch. Louis heaves a deep breath and puts the condom on the ledge.

"Feel good?" Nick asks, kissing the side of his neck.

"Love a hot bath," Louis agrees. He turns his head to nuzzle at Nick's neck. "Thank you for teaching me, Daddy."

Nick shivers at that, his dick twitching. He's too old for this; or at least he'd considered himself to be past the stage where having sex over and over seemed like the perfect way to spend an evening. He wishes they had wine. He wants to just stay here, Louis nestled against his front, mouth pressed to Nick's throat, Nick's hand in his hair. "Any time, little one," he says, stroking his fingers through Louis's hair. It's long enough that it falls in a bit of a fringe across his forehead. "You were so good, love. Such a good boy for Daddy."

It's Louis's turn to tremble at that, shifting back a little so that Nick's dick slides almost imperceptibly down into the crease of Louis's bum. 

"You want me to wash your hair?" Nick asks, his dick starting to fatten up as Louis wriggles a little, settling down, shifting position. 

Louis shakes his head, and leans back against Nick's chest. "Not yet, Daddy," he says, voice hazy. His hips roll, just a little bit, just enough that Nick's dick catches against his hole. 

There is literally nothing Nick wants more right this second than to slide right on in. He stays still instead, hand splayed against the curve of Louis's stomach, Louis's fingers laced with his. 

It doesn't take long for Nick to get hard again, with his lovely boy rubbing all up against him. Louis's only halfway there, has come too many times tonight, but he wants Nick inside him again, he says, and Nick isn't going to argue that. Nick lifts his hips out of the water so Louis can roll the condom on, and he groans at the few hot, slow tugs Louis gives him. "Like that, Daddy?"

Nick laughs breathily, arms shaking a bit where he's holding himself up. "Yes, cheeky boy."

"Down," Louis says bossily. Nick lowers himself down into the water again, and Louis just mounts up. He grips Nick's dick by the base and lines himself up, and then sinks down on him. He's still wet and open from before, and he lets out a long, loud groan as Nick fills him up. Nick hisses, feeling oversensitive himself, and rubs his hands up and down Louis's sides, over his soft belly. Louis sinks down and down and down, so slow and hot and steady until he's sat right there on Nick's lap, on Nick's cock, resting against him. He's hard between them but he's not trembling, it's not urgent. Nick wraps an arm around him and leans back comfortably, dick throbbing inside of Louis. 

"God, you're so big, Daddy, feel so huge in me. Love how big you are, stretch me out. Feels so good."

"Fill you up for real, someday," Nick tells him. Louis's a bit drowsy, resting against Nick's chest, breath warm on Nick's cheek. "Nothing separating us."

"Want that," Louis says. He kisses Nick's jaw, a tiny bit clumsy. His voice is thick. "Don't want condoms, Nick. Wanna feel you. Want your come inside of me." He kisses him again, open-mouthed, breath catching just a little. "You'd make me keep it inside, afterwards? Wouldn't you, Daddy? Plug me up?"

"Anything you wanted, little one," Nick says, stroking his hand down Louis's arm. He trembles under his touch, rolling his hips down to meet Nick's, and Nick is having some trouble dealing with this, because he has never, not once, not ever, not _ever_ , considered going in without a condom. He slides his hand down over Louis's neck, and kisses the corner of his mouth. He's doing his best not to move, to let Louis control the pace because he was the one who'd come so much tonight, he was the one who looked like he was on the edge of sleep. "You'd be so tight around me. You'd make me come so hard, baby."

"God," Louis manages, shifting a little, water going over the side of the bath. He goes up onto his knees, and then presses back down onto Nick's cock, and Nick gasps out a breath. "You're so big. You fill me up, Daddy. I'm so full."

"My lovely little size queen," Nick drawls, teasing. He grips Louis's bum in both hands and squeezes, helping Louis lift up and sink back down again. They're getting water all over but Nick couldn't care less. Louis's flushed and pretty, hair wet, eyes just barely open. "Need a nice, thick cock to fill you up, don't you?"

"Y-yeah," Louis stutters, face screwing up in pleasure. It feels so good around him, the hot water and Louis's hot, hot body. He rubs at Louis's stomach and palms over the head of his cock, latching his mouth onto Louis's neck as Louis shudders and mewls. "So, God, so deep inside me, Nick. Daddy, fucking me so deep."

Nick kisses his way down Louis's chest and catches one of his stiff little nipples in his mouth. He tugs with his teeth, and pinches at the other one with his thumb and forefinger. Louis's so sensitive, whining, riding Nick as fast as he can without disrupting Nick's mouth on him. When he comes it's so sudden, and just barely anything spills from the slit of his cock, and it wrenches a hot, pained sound out of him. Nick pulls him down to keep himself buried deep, mouthing at Louis's nipples, teasing until they're red and bruised and will be tender still in the morning.

And Louis lets him, mewling in tiny, hiccups of breath as Nick continues to mouth at him, way past anything that could be comfortable. Nick doesn't stop, desperation coming from somewhere deep inside of him to leave the kinds of marks all over Louis that will make him remember this, tonight, the two of them together. He nips at him with his teeth, one last bite that has Louis sobbing out his name. 

"God, Louis," he says, and he doesn't know why he sounds so choked up and broken, but Louis whimpers, tipping forward into his arms, water going everywhere. Nick is still inside of him, still hasn't come, but he wraps his arms round Louis anywhere, kissing him over and over as Louis trembles in his arms.

Louis slides off him carefully once he's caught his breath. He looks relaxed, serene and sleepy and precious. Nick strokes his hair and Louis kisses him, getting rid of the condom one-handed. Nick's so hard, right on the edge, and it only takes a few strokes of Louis's clever hands to have him coming.

"So good, Daddy," Louis murmurs, smiling impishly against Nick's cheek. "Such a good Daddy."

"You've got such a mouth on you," Nick says, voice slurred.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Nick kisses him stupid, until they're both weak-limbed and achy from it. "Never," Nick tells him. "Not one bad thing about you, baby."

Louis makes a face, clearly uncomfortable with being complimented, but Nick will teach him just how gorgeous he is. They wash up quickly with Nick's expensive shower gel, and then climb out of the bath and dry each other off before Nick sweeps Louis up, bridal style, and carries him off to bed. Louis's laughing as he's tossed onto the bedclothes. Nick crawls over with him a smile.

"Hi," Louis says, eye bright even though he's clearly exhausted. "Fancy seeing you here." He runs his hands up Nick's chest, only stopping when he cups Nick's face in his hands. 

"Fancy," Nick says, and he can't keep from laughing, even as Louis is stroking at his cheeks with his thumbs. "You're so brilliant," he says, as Louis pulls him in for a kiss. "So, so brilliant."

"I know," Louis says. He nips at Nick's bottom lip with his teeth. "I'm going to remind you that you said that about 16 times a day, just so you know."

"Only 16?” Nick grins. "I was banking on at least 35.”

"Better buy me lots and lots of nice things, then, to shut me up."

Nick kisses him then, holding himself up over Louis as Louis arches up to kiss him back. "Anything in particular you want, love?"

"Other than the Lamborghini, you mean?" Louis raises an eyebrow. "I want it all, Nicholas. I want caviar for breakfast and diamonds for lunch."

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend," Nick says, in between kissing him. "If that's for lunch, what do you want for dinner?"

"Pie and mash," Louis tells him. "The finest mashed potato in all the land."

"Sexy," Nick says, and he gives up holding himself up over Louis in favour of lying down next to Louis on the pillows, and drawing him into his side. "I'll put it on my list."

Louis folds up into him all close, forcing a leg between Nick's, resting his head in the crook of Nick's neck. "New skis, too. I always have to hire them. Also Vans in every colour. Also jeans that make my bum look good. I want to be like Julia Roberts in _Pretty Woman_ , and go and get all dressed up. Prettiest boy in the land, right?"

Nick laughs. "Prettiest boy ever," he agrees. "You want a personal shopper experience? They'll do that. We can have you try all sorts of things. Suits—you'd look incredible in a custom suit, babe. Some quality basics. You need new jackets, too, yours are falling apart and it's getting cold out."

"You know I was just joking, right, about the you buying me things."

Nick holds Louis closer and kisses the top of his head. "I know _you_ were, but I have all sorts of ideas."

Louis snorts. "Oh yeah, like what?"

"Like buying you pretty things," Nick murmurs, rubbing his fingers very lightly over Louis's hairless underarm. "Pretty things for you to wear. Knickers with little ruffles and pretty bows. Soft, shiny things. There was this gorgeous little satin slip in a shop window I saw on my way to work last week, that would look so lovely on you."

Louis buries his face in Nick's neck. "You really are kinky," he says. 

"A bit," Nick agrees, biting his lip, hoping he hasn't gone too far. “You know you can stop me at any time, right? You can just say stop. Any time. About anything.”

Louis looks like he’s going to say something, but Nick touches a finger to his lips. “Don’t brush it off,” he says. “You need to know that, and I need to know you know. That you can say no. I’ll always stop.”

Louis kisses his cheek. “I know,” he says finally. “But thank you.”

Nick nods. He runs his fingers down Louis’s sides. “Do you want to go back to telling me what else you’d like me to get you? Anything.”

Louis's quiet for a long time, and then he noses at Nick's throat and says, soft and shy, "Maybe a skirt? That I just. Just wear for you. To go over my knickers."

Nick is definitely beyond going for another round, but his dick does make a cursory twitch at that. "What kind of skirt, love? Like, a tiny one? With pleats? Or are you thinking, I don't know, sexy secretary?"

Louis nestles a little closer, shy again. "A little one, I think. I just—I don't know, okay, and I haven't even—I've not just—"

"Lou," Nick says, softly. "It's okay. Try again."

"You could call me your good girl," Louis says quickly. He's hidden his face in Nick's shoulder, and Nick is absolutely, one hundred per cent into dicks, and always has been, but something about Louis wanting to be Nick's good girl goes straight to the kinky part of his brain and stays there. 

"I could," Nick says. He strokes Louis's hair. "We can do that, love." He leans in to kiss the top of Louis's head. "So, are you going to let me take you shopping?"

"I don't want to be a girl," Louis says quickly. "It's not. That's not it at all."

"Hey, I know," Nick says, tucking his fingers under Louis's chin until Louis's looks at him. He's blushing so red again. He's so precious. Nick strokes his cheek. "You worry a lot about that sort of thing, don't you? Your motivations for things."

Louis shrugs. "Sometimes. It's just. A weird kink, isn't it? Wanting to be like. Dressed up. And called a girl."

"It's really, really not. I promise there is porn about it. There is so much porn about it. Last year we did an entire magazine shoot of men in lingerie that was massively successful. Getting off on something isn't fucked up. There are people who fantasise about all kinds of things, but they don't actually want to be that in real life. Like, some people like to be wrapped completely in leather so they can hardly breathe. Do you think I like it when you call me Daddy because I've got weird incest issues?"

Louis shakes his head. "No, 'course not. Just…the taboo is really hot, yeah? And the, like. You like to take care of people. I saw you with your assistants and employees and stuff. Even Harry. And you like, um. Control? But only when it's…When you're sure I want to give it to you."

Nick's hand tightens on Louis's shoulder then, almost entirely outside of his control. "Yeah," he says. "If you ever, ever feel like—" he doesn't go on. He doesn't know how to, because there's such a lot that's gone on in Louis's life that they haven't talked about. "I want to be sure," he says. "I'm never going to do anything you don't want. That's not—that's not what I want, all right?"

"I know," Louis says, after a moment. "I trust you."

"Good," Nick says, softly. "You make me want to take care of you. I always like that side of it, but it feels different this time." It's unusual, Nick having this kind of conversation. He doesn't quite know how to put it all into words. 

"You should show me the pictures," Louis says. "From that magazine. The boys in lingerie."

"Some of those knickers were so, so pretty, love. You'd look so pretty in them. You'd be the prettiest boy ever, and even if you liked it if I called you my good girl, you'd still be my boy, okay? You'd still be mine."

Louis pokes at Nick's nipple with his finger. It tickles. "I've never wanted to be someone's before. I think it's really hot that you want me to be yours. You say _mine_ and it makes me feel, like, amazing. Like I could fucking fly. Is that weird? Is that how I should be feeling?"

Nick lets out a breath. "I don't think there's a wrong answer to how you should be feeling. However it makes you feel is all right." He kisses the top of his head. "It's okay that we find all of this hot, you know."

"I know," Louis says, but Nick isn't sure how much of it he believes. He doesn't know why Louis didn't stay here over the weekend. 

He strokes Louis's hair and Louis sighs, settling down again. He takes one of Nick's hands and threads their fingers together, holding tight. "I really. You mean a lot to me. You mean so much to me. You should know that."

Nick doesn't know what to say. His heart feels like it's about to burst. He brings Louis's hand to his mouth and kisses it and Louis lets out a breathy laugh, lifting his head to see Nick properly. He looks good. He looks happy. Even if he's not okay, deep down where those scars came from, he looks like Nick's made him happy. "Do you have lectures tomorrow?"

Louis groans and flops back onto the bed. "Yes, and so many essays still to do before reading week, and there's this coursework thing that's going to be so hard. I'm not even working at the cafe the rest of this week. It's why I wanted to meet you at the airport tonight, 'cause I don't think I'll be able to see you again until Friday night."

"That's all right," Nick says, even though he hates the idea of it. "Studying is important, and I'll always be here."

"You still have to go to the caff in the mornings, though. Harry and Zayn have come to expect you."

Nick laughs. "I can do that. I've got quite used to the, erm, cuisine there."

"And the week after next is reading week. We can. I mean, if you want, we can spend some of that together."

"I'd like that," Nick says, although he's got an idea in his head that might mean more than just spending a bit of that time together. "You're staying in London the whole week? You're not going home to see your family or anything?"

"Nope," Louis says. He pokes Nick in the belly button. Nick suspects he's supposed to find it vaguely irritating and not just endlessly endearing. "Going back the weekend after reading week. Can't wait. It's been weeks since I saw my mum."

Nick kisses the top of his head again. "Miss her, do you?"

"I'm a proper mummy's boy," Louis says, nestling closer, his cheek rubbing against Nick's chest. "In case you want to laugh at that or anything. I talk to her every day."

Nick can't really imagine talking to his mum every day, but then he's the baby of the family, even now when his sister and his brother are in their fifties, and his niece is a good ten years older than Louis. None of them talk to their mum every day. "I'd run out of things to say."

"You'd never run out of things to say," Louis says. His teeth graze Nick's nipple. "You're as much of a talker as I am."

"Together we're a right pair, then," Nick says. "So, next week, love. What are your plans?"

Louis shrugs. "Mooch around, hassle you, wank. Do the reading for this stupid essay. Sleep and watch telly. I took this week and next off work because I was going to be so busy, but this stupid group project's been put off until next term, so I'm just going to be hanging round the flat in my pants after the essay's done. Wanking and playing Wii. That bloody Harry's been at the games, though, he's hidden them all apart from Animal Crossing. Dick." He sounds inordinately fond. "You don't want to write my essay on Wuthering Heights, do you? I hate that book. Can't I just watch the film?"

"No," Nick says. "Do your essay."

"Not now," Louis says. "Now I'm just staying here. Couldn't wank even if I wanted to, anyway, my dick's gone all flat." He lifts the covers up, and pokes at his dick with his finger. "Look, it can't even raise a smile. You've broken it. Goodbye, lovely willy. I loved you more than anything."

"You're wonderful," Nick says, by accident. He meant to say, _you're terrible_. He hadn't meant to say that, but when Louis looks up at him, his eyes are bright and shiny and Nick wants to say it over and over again just so that Louis will look at him like that again, like he's the centre of his universe and more. Nick's heart feels all caught up in his chest. 

"Nicholas," Louis says. 

"You're so, so lovely," Nick says. "My lovely boy. I'm so glad I met you."

"Yeah, well," Louis says, going red. "Me too. I'm so glad I met you." He pokes Nick in the side. "Daddy."

Nick snorts, and pulls the covers up over them both, a cocoon against the outside world. "Go the fuck to sleep," he says. "When you wake up, your penis will be mended, and you can go to lectures."

Louis kisses him then, soft and sweet. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

The rush of love and affection that Nick gets at that is quite, quite ridiculous. 

He’s fucked. He’s so, so fucked. 

It’s brilliant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You definitely, definitely won't need a sleeping bag," Nick says. He pulls Louis into his side, arm around his shoulders. He presses his fingertips into the tense muscle there; Louis needs a massage and a week of thinking about nothing but relaxing. "It's a surprise, now shush." 
> 
> Or: Nick has plans for Louis's week off uni.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to **Ashley** for the beta and to **pillarboxred** for comments and support. 
> 
> This remains self indulgent. Indulge me (and my anonymous friend). 
> 
> Anyway, [look at this dapper goat in a sweater](https://img.etsystatic.com/il/0cbcae/986086344/il_570xN.986086344_1oaf.jpg).

~*~

True to his word, Louis hardly has any time to talk, let alone spend with Nick for the rest of the week. He sounds relatively cheerful on Wednesday night when he calls Nick before going to bed, but by Friday his voice is insubstantial and exhausted and he has trouble following along with the conversation when they're on the phone. Nick itches to see him, but at least he’s got Harry’s number now, and Harry texts him updates and says he's making sure that Louis is sleeping at least a few hours each night. Nick eats breakfast at the cafe every morning, and he works late every night and is very busy, but it doesn't stop him from missing Louis horribly.

On Friday night, Louis ends up staying with his friend Eleanor from his course because they've got loads left to do on their part of their group project. He's able to meet up with Nick for lunch on Saturday, but then has the rest of the afternoon booked for more group project work with the rest of his seminar group. He looks absolutely dreadful, sitting at Nick's usual table in the cafe, head on the table and his eyes red from lack of sleep, dark circles underneath them. Nick wants to scoop him up and take him home, to his own bed in his little flat so that he's comfortable, and wrap his arms around him. Nick tells him exactly what he's thinking. 

"I'd like that," Louis says, from where he's perched in Nick's lap. "I want you to come over. But, like, maybe not tonight? I have to go for another stupid group project session in the morning, and I haven't finished the prep yet. But I want you to. Soon. But, like, um-- I know it's kind of small. Not what you're used to."

"Are you joking?" Nick asks, thrilled with the idea. "And miss this insight into the psyche of Louis Tomlinson? I can't wait to see your room."

"It's basically a shoebox," Louis says, blushing and ducking his head. Nick kisses the tip of his nose. 

"It'll be fine, kitten. Great even. Just tell me when. I want to."

Louis hugs him fiercely. "Good. I will. But maybe we can talk tonight? Later?"

"Course," Nick says. "Course we can."

Louis has to run off to his study group a few minutes later. There's a Saturday mid-afternoon lull in customers in the cafe, and Harry comes out and takes a seat in the empty chair across from him, drinking the last of Louis's second coffee. 

"Six more days and he'll be free," he tells Nick. "He looks shit, doesn't he?"

"A bit tired," Nick says, because it would be mean to agree. Six more days. Nick's had this idea for almost a week, now, and he it's bit short notice, so he'll need to act now to get it all together in time. "Haz, d'you think Louis might like to go away for a bit in reading week?"

"Away, like—" Harry looks a bit puzzled. Nick's waiting for him to finish his question but it's clear Harry never had any intention of going any further than _like_ , so Nick rolls his eyes at him, just because. 

"Away, like, with me," Nick says, a trifle lamely. "Away." Nick can bring a boardroom to silence with one raised eyebrow if the situation calls for it. Harry makes a face at him, and Nick's falling over his words. Louis and his friends are a glorious change from the people he works with. None of them appear to be scared of him, for a start.

"On holiday? It's November."

"Yes, on holiday. People go on holiday in November, you know. Anyway, do you think it's a terrible idea? I'd quite like not to spring something on him that he's going to be desperately miserable about. Quite the opposite, in fact."

Harry pours him another cup of tea, despite the fact Nick had ordered coffee. He'd ordered coffee three cups of tea ago, but Harry seems to like making tea, so Nick tends to let him. "Louis is, um—" Harry stops talking again. "I can't talk about him because it's private, but he's—he's fragile and you've got to look after him. He pretends he isn't."

Nick is quite sure he's already had this conversation. Although if he was Harry, and he knew what had happened to Louis to result in his scars, he'd make sure this conversation happened multiple times as well. "He's so tired. I just want to take him somewhere where he can forget about uni work for a bit. Do you think he'd like that?"

Harry bites his lip. "He's broke," he says finally. "He can't afford to go away. He's not going back to his mum's until next payday."

"I'll pay," Nick says quickly. "I'd pay for him. I just—I just want to know if it's a good idea or not, or if I'd make things worse."

Harry sits down opposite him, and kicks Nick in the ankle. Nick has no idea if it's on purpose or by accident. "Will you take him somewhere nice? He hasn't been on holiday in ages. He spent all summer working in the bakery at Asda at home. He hated it. He hasn't been away in yonks."

"Okay," Nick says. "Can you tell me when he's definitely not going to be in work? Then I'll work something out. I'm due a holiday."

Harry kicks him in the ankle again. Nick's sure that this time at least was on purpose. "Don't go anywhere," he says, like Nick's about to stand up and leave. "Drink your tea, I'll bring you another cup after I've checked the rota."

Louis's friends are all terrible. Nick's going to have a bruise. They're delightful. He's really quite glad that Louis has them. He texts him whilst he's waiting for Harry to come back from the kitchen, a _Chin up chickadee xx planning something for us next week xx_

It's quite wretched, what this relationship with Louis has done to him. 

_That makes me nervous xxx_ Louis sends back. Nick can't hold back a smile.

_Nothing to be nervous about. A good plan, I promise. xx_

Louis sends back a string of aubergine emojis and Nick rolls his eyes, pocketing his phone as Harry returns with tea and a cinnamon bun, which they're apparently sharing because there are two forks. "I've cleared him for the week," Harry says. "Perrie has been gagging for extra hours for months, now, she'll love having Louis's shifts."

Nick beams at Harry. "You're the best, Hazza."

"I know. So where are you taking him? It's November. Somewhere warm, maybe? Dubai? Morocco? Is that still hot in November?"

Nick shrugs. A beach would be nice, probably, but he wants to hole up with Louis somewhere, maybe have a long leisurely fuck in front of a roaring fire. "I'm thinking Switzerland. The Alps, actually. He's mentioned skiing."

Harry perks up, grinning. He's got dimples. He's really cute. "Oh Louis'll love that. He tried to show me how to ski once. I broke my arm."

"You can't give anything away," Nick says, unsurprised by Harry's story of athletic woe. He's seen Harry trip over an actual piece of toast. "I want it to be a surprise where we're going. That we're going anywhere. He already knows I'm planning something, but not what. I want to surprise him."

"I won't tell anyone. Well, except Liam and Zayn and Niall."

" _Harry_ ," Nick laughs.

"They won't say anything," Harry promises. "Here, eat your half."

Nick spends the rest of the day working a bit from home and making inquiries about his impromptu holiday. He won't have trouble taking the week off himself, as there is a lull between projects and Christmas is coming up and quite frankly, he's the boss, but finding a place to stay that's good enough on this short notice may be difficult. He'll set Jordan on it on Monday. Jordan is great at stuff like this.

True to his word, Jordan is phenomenal at this kind of thing. When Nick gets back from lunch at The Ivy on Monday, Jordan presents him with two options: one, an apartment that takes up an entire floor of a sumptuous chalet, with an indoor pool downstairs and a hot tub on the private balcony and chefs on hand, or two: a chalet that sleeps 24 people, with balcony after balcony, hot tub, Jacuzzi, pool, sauna, bar, endless kitchen and the kind of amenities on tap that don't even fit on one printed page. 

"I'll take that one," Nick says, passing back the pictures of the chalet that sleeps 24. "Charge it to my personal account, and work out the flights. You know what to do if there aren't any convenient ones. I've given you the details of our availability." He has a meeting in five minutes about the acquisition of _The Independent_ ; Nick's never considered going into the newspaper business, but rumour has it that they're laying off their entire arts journalism section, and that's where Nick's best friend Gillian works, so he intends to save her job one way or another. His company has so many branches to it now that Nick sometimes forgets whole divisions when he's adding them all up. Luckily Nick doesn't actually need to be here for the negotiations; he has the best lawyers in London, so he's content to leave them to it for a week. He gathers up his papers and sends a text to Louis as he's heading for the conference room. _Few more days, love. Going to whisk you away for a few days, if you'll have me. What do you say?_

He doesn't wait for a response, tapping his phone onto silent as he heads into his meeting. Just a few more days. 

His meeting goes well, and over the next few days, Louis is enthusiastic and relentless in asking questions about what Nick has planned for them. Nick gives nothing away, even though it's horribly difficult to keep it a secret, and they're both so busy that they don't have time all week for more than a quick cup of coffee at the cafe on Thursday morning.

"Your last lecture finishes at noon tomorrow, right?" Nick asks him.

"Yeah. Should I pack warm things or swimming trunks?"

"I'll pick you up at half twelve then. Our flight is in the afternoon. And you don't have to pack a thing if you don't want to, we can buy everything you could possibly need. But both warm things and swimming trunks would be good."

"I'm not letting you buy me week's worth of clothes, Nicholas," says Louis, sipping at his tea. He rubs his foot up Nick's calf and Nick shivers. He hasn't had Louis in over a week and he's going mad from it. 

"What time am I picking you up?" Nick asks him, just to be sure he knows.

Louis rolls his eyes. "Half twelve, Daddy," he sing-songs, and to anyone listening in it sounds like Louis is teasing Nick for being overbearing. There's no way to tell Nick's dick has perked up, curious.

"Pest," Nick says, standing up. He unhooks his coat from the back of his chair and leans in to kiss Louis on the cheek. He lets his mouth graze Louis's ear. "I've missed you in my bed, little one." He's gratified that Louis shivers a little, nudging his elbow into Nick's. Nick kisses him again, mouth brushing Louis's. "Don't forget your passport, love."

"Hey," Louis says, getting to his feet. "You'll get cold." He leans in and knots Nick's scarf a little tighter, even though it's not as if Nick has far to go to get back to work. He tucks it into the front of Nick's coat, and then slides his hand into Nick's pocket to bring out a pair of gloves. "Don't be a dickhead, Nicholas. Wrap up warm."

Nick rolls his eyes to at least make a show of hiding how enamoured he is. "Half twelve tomorrow, Lou."

"Can't wait," Louis says, standing up on his tip-toes to kiss Nick on the cheek again. "Daddy."

Nick walks the rest of the way to work with a spring in his step. 

~*~

Louis is, impossibly, all packed and ready to go at exactly the right time the next day. He's only brought a small case that's not nearly big enough for a week, but Nick hasn't told him how long they're staying, either, and quite honestly Nick doesn't expect that Louis will be needing clothes all that often. The driver helps him put it into the boot of the car, next to the several large cases Nick brought.

"Seriously?" Louis says, eyebrow raised in judgement.

"Are you really that surprised?" Nick asks him.

Louis laughs and wraps both arms around Nick's neck, rocking up onto his toes to kiss Nick's nose. "Not at all."

He sits in Nick's lap all the way to the airport, chattering on about his and Eleanor's project and the essay he wrote and how he should probably spend some time reading _Candide_. His degree makes him read too many things he doesn't want to read, he tells Nick. He's still pale with exhaustion and his back is in knots. He needs looking after, and relaxation, and Nick's entire schedule is geared towards giving him just that for a week. 

It's a bit of a drive to the terminal, and Louis is almost asleep with his head on Nick's shoulder by the time they pull up. Nick is loathe to make him move, but Louis grumbles sleepily and bundles up in his scarf and coat and hat again to make the journey inside.

Nick flies exclusively first class, naturally, so checking in their luggage and getting through security is relatively easy. They're cutting it close, time-wise, so there isn't much time to loiter in the shops. He'll have to take Louis somewhere else another time, somewhere he can spoil Louis rotten in Duty Free even before the plane's taken off. As it is, he makes Louis wear his headphones for as much of their time in the airport as possible. Nick won't be able to keep where they're going a secret much longer, really, and he only just keeps Louis from reading the destination on their boarding pass, but he's enjoying the surprise while it lasts, and apparently, so is Louis, who hasn't complained about having to listen to Nick's carefully curated playlist once.

Louis takes the window seat when they get on the plane, looking nervous but excited, and since there's no one else in first class yet, Nick cups Louis's cheek and kisses him breathless. Louis still has his headphones in and his music on, but he chases after Nick's lips and slides his arms around him, staying close. He looks so tired. Nick smoothes Louis's hair off his forehead and lets him tuck himself into Nick's side. 

Louis sleeps on his shoulder for the whole flight, not even waking up when the air steward comes around with drinks. Nick drinks a whisky and coke and keeps his hand tangled in Louis's, even though it's uncomfortable and doesn't leave him free to do much of anything else. He watches Louis sleep, instead, and he only wakes him up once they're landing at Geneva, and it's time to get off the plane. 

"I never sleep on planes," Louis says, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "I must have been knackered."

He still looks knackered, pale and transparent at the edges, but he leans into Nick's side as they stand up, even as they're the first off the plane, and the cold hits them like a wall. 

"Glad I didn't bring my flip-flops," Louis says, tucking his hand into Nick's at the bottom of the steps from the plane. They shake hands with the staff, and walk on over towards the terminal, Louis leaning into Nick's side. He stifles a yawn. 

"Early night tonight," Nick says. "Just you and me."

"Is it a hotel?" Louis asks. "Is it a _suite_? I've never been in a hotel that's more than a room before. Will it have a living room? What do you do in a hotel living room?"

"It's not a hotel," Nick says. He hands their passports over to the guy at passport control, and then they're both through and on the way to baggage claim. Nick gets a trolley, and wishes he'd flown an assistant out to deal with the luggage. He hates luggage. It stresses him out. 

"Bed and breakfast?" Louis suggests. "Are they going to be all right with the fact we're both guys?"

He sounds just a little uncertain, and Nick very kindly wants to punch a wall. "It's not a bed and breakfast, but I swear no one is going to bat an eyelid because it's the two of us."

"What else is there left?" Louis asks. "A hostel? Are we camping? I didn't bring a sleeping bag."

"You definitely, definitely won't need a sleeping bag," Nick says. He pulls Louis into his side, arm around his shoulders. He presses his fingertips into the tense muscle there; Louis needs a massage and a week of thinking about nothing but relaxing. "It's a surprise, now shush."

"I will not be shushed," Louis tells him, but he nestles further into Nick's side anyway. He yawns again. "Sorry."

It takes almost half an hour to get their luggage, and Louis insists on pushing the trolley through to the exit. It's bitterly cold outside, and it will be so much colder once they get into the mountains. Nick's arranged for a car to take them, and it's a very plush car with tinted windows so that Louis can't see where they're going until they get there. 

"In you get," Nick says, once their luggage is packed in. Louis crawls into the spacious back seat, even fancier than the ones Nick usually hires, since he's going all out for this holiday. There are strawberries dipped in Swiss chocolate and a bottle of champagne in a bucket console between the seats, and a small telly in the wall below the divider, which remains up as the car starts.

"It smells so clean here," Louis says, breathing in deep. "Even in the car. The air is so fresh."

Nick opens the champagne with a wonderful pop and Louis laughs, catching the cork out of mid air. 

"Nice reflexes."

"I played footie for ages, you know. Did I tell you that? I miss it sometimes. Harry and the lads will indulge me in a game at the park sometimes."

"You're a bit of a sporty type, aren't you?"

"That was never my Spice Girl," Louis says, shaking his head. "It always went to Liam. I'm Ginger. Sass Master from Doncaster, they call me."

"Well you've certainly got a mouth on you," Nick agrees. He pours them both a generous glass and puts the bottle back into its ice bucket and hands Louis one of the flutes. He clears his throat importantly and raises his glass. "To you, love."

Louis smiles shyly, disbelieving. "To me? You're the one who's done all this."

"To you," Nick insists. He leans in to kiss Louis, "For agreeing to spend your reading week with a ridiculous old man."

"With _my_ ridiculous old man," Louis says fiercely, and clinks their glasses together. Nick hides his smile by taking a drink.

They watch _Captain America_ on the TV in the back of the car, Louis drifting off curled against Nick's side, Nick carefully removing the champagne flute when it looks like it's in danger of tipping. Louis complains at that, but not enough to wake up properly, so Nick just tucks the glass back into the holder and wraps his arms around Louis as he sleeps. He's never felt this protective of anyone before, not ever, and it's just everywhere he turns, this _need_ , this drive to do the best for Louis in every way. He kisses the top of his head and lets him sleep. He wants this holiday to take away some of the strain from Louis's skin. It's costing him a very, very, very large amount of money for this week, even by Nick's normal standards, and he wants it to work. Wants Louis to stop looking so tired and so stressed, and to start to look relaxed again, and happy. 

In the end, he dozes too, his week having been just as long as Louis's. He doesn't wake up until the car's pulling up outside the chalet, and Louis wakes him with a start when the driver knocks on the glass, elbowing Nick in the side. 

"Think that means we're here," Nick says, kissing him on the cheek. He yawns, stretching.

Louis looks hesitant. "Is it the tent? Is that where we are?"

"Absolutely," Nick says. "Go on, love. Out you get."

Their driver is already getting the cases out, and Louis climbs out of the car, Nick following. He wraps an arm around Louis's waist. The chalet is three storeys high, covered in snow, and has multiple balconies. It's like something off of a postcard. 

"What do you think?" he asks, kissing Louis on the cheek as their driver sorts out their bags.

"Do we have a room here?" Louis asks, voice very quiet under the wind. Nick tips their driver very well, and he's incredibly nice about getting their luggage inside while Louis stands stunned into stillness. 

"No, love, we have the whole chalet."

"The who—" Louis can't even get the full word out. He looks up and up and up, to the terrace on the third floor. His breath catches in his throat and he turns in Nick's arms, wide-eyed. "Nick this is, this is so much. Too much. It must've cost—You can't—"

"I can and I did," says Nick. "We have it for the week. I can't wait for you to see the inside. The pictures looked amazing."

"Nick, I…" Louis trails off, eyeing the chalet in alarm and chewing his thumbnail. Nick draws him immediately into his arms, kissing his forehead. 

"Hey, none of that, now. This is exactly what I wanted, for both of us. We've both been run ragged recently, little one. I need this, and I hope you'll find some peace and quiet here too."

"You didn't. You didn't have to," Louis tells him.

"I know," Nick promises, kissing Louis's fingers. "I wanted to. I want to."

Most of the tension eases out of Louis's shoulders and he ventures a smile. He hugs Nick startlingly tight for a few seconds and then pulls back and dusts imaginary lint off his coat, clearing his throat. "This dump had better have a telly, that's all I'm saying, Nicholas."

"Are you going to break up with me if it doesn't have a telly?" Nick frowns, and pretends to look around. "This place better have a telly. I'll get someone to go and buy one immediately. I told them we didn't need staff and just to leave it all set up, but I can find someone--"

" _Nick_ ," Louis laughs, tugging on his coat, pulling him in. "Seriously? This place is just for us? You did this?"

"You looked tired," Nick says. He feels a bit embarrassed, but the wonder on Louis's face is going some way to alleviating that. 

"How many people can stay here?"

"24," Nick says, nodding. 

"Right, I looked tired so you got me 24 beds."

"I suspect some of them are doubles," Nick says. "You want to have a look round, or what?"

Louis tucks his hand into Nick's. "Let's go and explore," he says. "I feel like I'm at fucking Hogwarts. This place is huge."

It's better than the website made it look. The ground floor has a stocked bar, kitchen and dining room that comfortably seats at least 24, as well as a small office and a library area that has a huge stone hearth fireplace and a big animal skin rug, as well as a couple of squashy armchairs. The first and second floor are almost identical, one large bedroom with its own sitting area and en-suite, and several other smaller bedrooms. The true master suite is on the top floor, a huge, open room with an equally huge en-suite that far surpasses Nick's at home. It has its own fireplace and a telly on the wall, its own sitting area with a big, deep tufted sofa, and its own terrace with a hot tub overlooking the snowy mountain peaks.

"We're going to have sex in every single room," Louis says. "And probably both hot tubs. I want to ride you on the kitchen table. And blow you on all the terraces."

Nick wets his lips and squeezes Louis's hand, leading him back downstairs. "Just wait, love, we're not finished yet."

"How can we not be finished yet? Are there hidden rooms?"

Nick takes him all the way down to the ground floor, and then down another set of steps to the lower ground.

"Fuck," Louis whispers, awed, as they step into the home cinema. The TV is nearly the size of the wall and the sofa is big enough to use as a bed. "All right, so it's got a TV, I suppose I won't have to break up with you."

"Good to know," Nick says.

Next they check out two small rooms with massage tables and oils, and Louis wiggles his eyebrows and cracks his knuckles. Nick has no plans to let Louis be the one giving any massages, but he doesn't mention it. Instead he wraps his arms around Louis's waist, his chest to Louis's back, and they stumble laughing into the main room on the lower floor.

"A pool?" Louis croaks. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Looks like it," Nick says, and he kisses Louis's neck, arms around his waist. "You think you'll be happy here for a week? Enough to do?"

"God," Louis says, and his voice catches. "What are you even like." He laces his fingers with Nick's, and squeezes. "I don't even—I have no idea how I'm going to thank you for this?"

Nick kisses him again. "Where do you want to start, little one?"

Louis turns around in his arms, wrapping himself around Nick with a grin. "Daddy," he says. "My daddy."

Nick slides his hands down over Louis's bum, tugging him closer. "You hungry? They were supposed to leave dinner. We could have dinner, and then explore. Unpack."

"Hot tub," Louis agrees. "Whatever you just said, plus hot tub. Eating, hot tub, exploring, hot tub, Daddy, hot tub."

Nick snorts. "God," he says. "You are a ginormous pest."

"Uh-huh," Louis agrees, and goes up on his tip-toes to rub his nose over Nick's. "Thank you."

"You're so welcome," Nick murmurs, hugging him close, the only light coming from the pool, ripples shining on the walls. This place is more romantic than Nick could have ever planned. This might be the most romantic thing he's ever done. 

They eat a delicious dinner with a vintage wine that's so good they both have a second glass. Louis wants to take a shower after, because he didn't have a chance to that morning, so they traipse up to the top floor to take advantage of the huge bedroom suite up there. Nick unpacks while Louis bathes, singing a Ramones song loud enough that Nick can hear every word through the open door.

"Do you want me to unpack your bag?" Nick calls.

"Yes, please."

Louis had smashed a lot of things messily into the bag (it hurts Nick's soul a bit to see), but it's mostly striped t-shirts and hoodies, a couple of pairs of jeans, several pairs of underwear and trackies. His swimming trunks are faded blue and far too long for Nick's taste, so he folds them neatly and puts them away with the rest of Louis's clothes in the walk-in wardrobe. He pulls out Louis's toilet bag to take into the bathroom, and at the very bottom of Louis's bag finds a file folder that he won't snoop through even though he wants to, and a familiar, lovely black box. 

Louis brought his vibrator with him. 

Nick went shopping prior to this trip, spending far more money than he probably should have. He bought new clothes for himself, of course, but more importantly he bought things for Louis. Lovely, pretty things. He has one entire case that's full of carefully selected toys—plugs and dildos and vibrators and massagers, a few cock rings and a cock cage—as well as knickers of all sorts, in silk and lace and satin, in red and soft pink and royal blue, in all different styles. He also spent a solid amount of time picking out a few of the more successful pieces from their men in lingerie shoot, and brought a copy of it for Louis to look through. There are also a few skirts, all very short, one pleated and one very tight and one with ruffles that Nick just loves, as well as a few pretty camisoles and tops. He wants Louis to be able to pick and choose what he fancies. 

For now, the only thing Nick pulls from that bag is the swimming trunks he bought for Louis. They're a bit of a joke, and he doesn't know that Louis will actually wear them. They're bright turquoise and a bit shiny and so tiny that just imagining the sight of Louis's bum in them is making Nick crazy. He lays them out on the bed and wanders into the bathroom once the water's turned off, setting both their toilet bags on the sink. Louis's drying himself off, all pink from the heat, and looking delighted and lovely.

"The water pressure is amazing," he tells Nick.

"Good. My turn for a rinse, I think. I hate the smell of planes. You're all unpacked, too. I bought you a pair of swimming trunks, just in case you forgot your own. They're on the bed."

"Hmm," says Louis, and he darts up to kiss Nick quickly on the mouth and drops his towel right there on the floor, sauntering bare-arsed into the bedroom.

Louis is gone when Nick comes out of the bathroom, and so are the tiny trunks. The doors to the balcony are open, though, and Nick can hear the soft sound of the hot tub. His own swimming shorts are little and blue, but they're definitely shorts, unlike Louis's, which were tiny and (hopefully) delicious. 

"You want anything to drink?" Nick calls, pulling up his shorts. 

"I've got the rest of the wine," Louis says, from out on the balcony, and when Nick goes out, pushing the door closed behind him to keep the heat in, it's so fucking cold he can barely breathe. 

"Christ," he says, practically launching himself into the hot tub. Louis is wearing a bobble hat, even though there's a heater going full blast by the tub. "It's fucking freezing."

"Stop complaining," Louis says, a little sanctimoniously. He's reclining over the other side of the hot tub, arms stretched out along the rim, glass of wine in one hand. "Get over here, and kiss me."

Nick laughs. "You're awful," he says, crawling over Louis's lap and stealing his glass to take a gulp. "How'd you like the trunks?"

"Like wearing a glove," Louis tells him. "You want a show, Daddy?"

"God," Nick says. "Menace. Of course I want a show." He switches their positions, so that he's sitting down and Louis's in his lap. He pulls him down into a kiss, and Louis tastes like wine and the cold and something else as well. Like _his_. He runs his hands down over Louis's bum. "Come on, little one."

Louis kisses the corner of his mouth, and then stands up right in the middle of the tub, water bubbling up all around them. It's steaming hot and there's snow everywhere, on the mountains, little chalets lit up along the mountainside like something in a dream. Louis stands in the middle of the tub with a very silly bobble hat on, skin pebbling in the chill, tiny turquoise trunks snug across his hips and his dick. 

"Turn around," Nick says, his mouth dry. "Turn around, baby."

Louis turns around, sticking his bum out. Nick reaches for him, hands splaying over his bum, pulling him down into his lap, already sliding the trunks down. 

"Daddy," Louis breathes, leaning his head back on Nick's shoulder, one hand behind him in Nick's hair. "Didn't you like them?"

"I liked them," Nick says. "I've just missed you, baby. I've missed you so much, love. Missed your dick, sweetheart. Missed you naked like this."

Louis wriggles then, right down over Nick's dick. "I'm clean," he says. "We went to the STI testing day at the Student Union. I'm clean."

Nick's heart stops, he's sure of it, and he goes so stiff so fast that he feels light headed. "Louis."

"I brought the results, if you wanna see 'em," Louis says, pushing his perfect bum down into Nick's crotch again and again. "I brought them with me."

The folder in his bag, Nick realises. He pulls in a slow breath and cups Louis's hard dick in one big hand. "I don't need to see it," he murmurs. "I trust you. I just, God, Louis, you're so fucking—" _I love you so much_ , Nick thinks. He kisses Louis's shoulder, then the side of his neck. "You're so good, baby. You're so good."

"You're clean too, yeah? You said you've never, without a condom. Don't you have to get a check up every few months? That's what you said, right?"

"I'm clean," Nick promises. He pumps Louis's length in slow, firm pulls. Louis's thighs are trembling, his arse clenching, pressing back against Nick's lap. Louis's little turquoise trunks are floating on the surface of the water. "God, Louis."

"Makin' you go all cave man, innit?" Louis teases, gasping and wriggling, his hand still in Nick's hair. Nick runs his free hand up Louis's side to his bare, smooth underarm, fingertips stroking. Louis jerks a bit the first and second and third time, ticklish, but he gets used to the slow glide of Nick's fingers on the sensitive skin there. He has a little mole right above his flank that catches on the pad of Nick's finger. Louis's voice is raspy, needy, and he's holding very still, soothed into quiet. "You want it too, don't you?"

The hint of insecurity in his voice just breaks Nick's heart. He cups Louis's balls in his hand and kisses his shoulder, his jaw until Louis turns his head and he can catch his mouth. When the kiss breaks he puts his lips right to Louis's ear. "Oh, my love, you've got no idea."

"I like that," Louis says in his small, quiet, obedient voice. "I want to be your love, I want to be yours."

"You are," Nick says, almost a growl. "You are, and you will be."

"Wanna feel it," Louis murmurs thickly. "Want you to fill me up inside."

"You're going to be mine everywhere," Nick tells him, stroking his fingertips over Louis's balls. "You're going to be mine here," he squeezes his balls a little, then up to his dick, "and here." He strokes his hand down between Louis's legs, down until he can touch his fingertip to Louis's little hole. "And here, little one. You're going to be Daddy's here." He's so fucking possessive he can barely see straight. "Daddy's boy, Lou. You're going to be Daddy's good boy."

Louis whimpers then, trying to press down against Nick's fingertip. "Make me yours," he begs. "Please, Daddy. Please."

There are robes hanging on the wall by the hot tub, underneath the heater. "What do you want, love? Do you want Daddy to touch you here? Then take you inside and finger you open all over again, so that you're slick and open and you don't need to worry about being tight?" He keeps stroking his fingertip in circles over Louis's hole, and Louis bites down another whimper. 

"Inside," Louis says. "I want it to be inside when we fuck."

"Okay," Nick says, biting down in the curve of his shoulder. He urges Louis up and round so that he's kneeling over Nick again, and Nick reaches round to touch him again, sneaking the tip of his finger inside of him. Louis bucks up, crying out. "That's right, love. That's such a good boy." 

Louis kisses him then, covers Nick's mouth with his own, a breathless whine that Nick swallows down and steals for his own. He fingers Louis open so, so slowly, Louis rocking up against him, and Nick keeps on kissing him. He's so in love with this lovely, ridiculous boy. 

Louis's biting his lip, trying to be quiet, and while Nick usually loves that, Louis controlling himself because Nick's said so, he wants to hear everything tonight. Louis's so hard in his hand, and so tight around his finger. His face is flushed and he's got goosebumps along his shoulders even though the water is so hot. Nick fucks his finger into him gently, so gently, just little easy pushes that open Louis up a little more each time.

"Nnnn," Louis grunts, and then bites his lip again. 

Nick lets go of his cock to cup his face and coaxes Louis's lip free with his tongue. "No, baby, you don't have to be quiet. My lovely boy, not tonight. I want to hear you, want to hear how much you're enjoying this."

" _Daddy_ ," Louis lets out at once, a dry sob that catches in his throat. Nick urges him to lift up a bit until he's level with Louis chest and he mouths at each of his nipples until Louis's mewling and pulling at Nick's hair, a quiet, desperate beg.

"Have you touched yourself, sweetheart?"

Louis shakes his head jerkily. "No, no. Not since, not since you told me to last Friday. I'm a good boy, Daddy. I'm a good boy for you."

Christ, a full week. Nick didn't even know that was possible. "You're such a good boy. The best boy. Deserve a reward, I think, take that edge off. You must be hurting, must need to come so badly."

Louis takes Nick's hand and drags it down between his own legs, closes Nick's palm around his balls and sobs, eyes clenched shut, forehead resting on Nick's shoulder. "Sensitive," he says. "They're so sensitive, Daddy."

Nick groans weakly, so turned on he might just explode. He kisses Louis and rolls his balls gently, dragging a few extra sobs from deep in Louis's chest before he pulls away. "D'you want Daddy's mouth, baby? Let Daddy taste what a good boy you are?"

"P-please," Louis pants, digging his fingernails into Nick's shoulders. "Please, please, Daddy, yes, please, let me come in your mouth, Daddy, _please_."

"Up on the ledge, darling," Nick tells him, easing his finger out of Louis's arse gently. He pats him on the bum as soon as Louis's arse is above water. There's a leather-padded seat on the ledge of the tub, so Louis will be able to lean back into the wall if he needs to while Nick blows him. Nick knows he won't last long, and Nick is so turned on by the thought of Louis shooting off embarrassingly fast. He feels dizzy and impossibly powerful, like the most powerful person in the world. Normally it's just work that makes him feel like that. 

Louis scrambles up onto the seat, cock hanging heavy between his legs. He parts his thighs and looks at Nick with desperate, bright eyes. 

"Such a good boy," Nick tells him, even as he's leaning in and touching his mouth to the tip of Louis's dick. He licks along the slit, at the pre-come gathering there, and Louis whimpers even as Nick takes him in his mouth. He reaches for Louis's hand, taking it and putting it in his hair, meaning for Louis to control how much of him he wants Nick to take in. 

A _week_. Louis had waited a week for him, and it's enough to break Nick into pieces, twist him around inside. He's going to take a ridiculously short amount of time to come, and Nick can't wait. He wants Louis to come quickly, to tangle his fingers in Nick's hair and take control, hold him there. 

He takes him right the way in, swallowing him down until he's almost choking around him, and then comes back off, gaze going up to meet Louis's, before going back in again, taking him down again. 

"Daddy," Louis sobs, and he's already close, even as Nick's sucking him off, shoulders freezing in the cold Swiss air, the rest of him boiling hot underneath the water. He can't imagine what it's like for Louis, sitting on the edge. "Daddy, I'm going to come."

Nick thinks, _yes, please, please_ , and when Louis starts to come, he swallows every last drop. He pulls Louis back into the water, a trembling, shivering mass that he pulls into a tight hug, kissing the underside of his ear, his jaw, his mouth. 

Louis tastes himself, licks every bit out of Nick's mouth and Nick lets him, hungry little thing that he is, shivering in Nick's arms. He's so fucking lovely, everything Nick could ever want and more. "Mine," Nick growls, throat sore and voice rough. God, he wants so many things, wants Louis's hand and his mouth, wants to fuck his throat, wants Louis's arse in so many ways. "You're mine, my good, lovely boy."

"God," Louis groans, clutching at Nick. "God, your mouth. Daddy. Need. Want you so much, all the time, want you all the time I can't stop thinking about it. Feel empty without you in me, feel empty when you're not next to me."

Nick hushes his babbling with a thorough, deep kiss. "I'm right here. All week long, baby, just us here."

Louis blinks up at him with bright eyes, and tucks his hand between them to fondle Nick's dick, a steady, hard pressure between his legs. Nick hisses in a breath, eyelashes fluttering. "Have you touched yourself?" Louis asks him, sounding honestly curious.

Nick shakes his head. "Not in days, love. Wanted to wait."

"So you're," Louis starts, and then wets his lips, face flushing red. He reaches further between Nick's legs to cup his tender balls. "You're gonna come really hard, yeah?"

"So hard," Nick agrees. "It's going to be messy."

Louis swallows visibly. "Inside me, right? You're gonna fuck it into me?"

Christ. "Yes. Yeah, baby. Going to make you mine, lovely."

Louis kisses him, still trembling. "Please," he says. "Can we go inside? Want you so much."

Nick surges up to kiss him then, cupping the back of his head and slanting his mouth against Louis's. He tastes sweet and a little breathless, but he kisses back earnestly, desperate, even as Nick's urging him up onto his feet and out of the tub. Nick wraps Louis in the warmed robe as he shivers, making sure he's all tucked in before reaching for his own. Louis tugs him inside then, wet feet on the hardwood floor, closing the door behind them to push the cold out once and for all. He's still shivering as he wraps his arms round Nick, walking him backwards into the bathroom again, and switching the shower on. 

"We just got out of the hot tub," Nick points out, but Louis rolls his eyes and undoes his robe, pushing him in the direction of the shower. 

"I'm cold," Louis says. "We're not getting straight in the bed all damp and cold, that would be stupid. I'm not missing a second of this holiday because you're sneezing and sniffling all over the place, so don't give me that face. Get in the shower."

Nick obediently gets under the spray and holds a hand out for Louis, who drops his robe on the floor and clambers in, going straight for Nick and kissing him. 

"You don't want me to get poorly," Nick points out, trying to hide the level of fond he can't help but feel towards Louis and everything that he does. 

"Of course I don't. Don't be silly. Now stop talking and get warmed up. I want you to fuck me bare. I want you to make me yours. We should have brought a plug. You could have plugged me up afterwards."

"Darling," Nick says, tilting Louis's chin up. "I've brought you all kinds of pretty things for this week. I've got you the prettiest plug I could find."

Louis blinks up at him. The shower is all steamed up and the chill is abating. Nick's warm and aroused and Louis's little hitched breaths are just lovely. 

"Really?" Louis asks.

Nick palms down Louis's back, over the ridges of his scars and down to his bum. He squeezes his arse before dipping his fingers into the cleft, rubbing at Louis's hole again so that Louis's eyes go dark. Nick kisses him. "Really. I bought so many pretty toys for you, baby. You won't have to feel empty ever, not at all, this whole week."

Louis looks like he's about to drop down into that floaty, comfortable place right here in the shower. Nick turns the water off and herds him out, grabbing the same fluffy towels they used earlier to dry Louis off thoroughly while Louis stares at him, lips parted. "All week?" he asks, voice barely a whisper. "Something inside me all the time? Even when I'm sleeping?"

Nick has to kiss him again, moan into his mouth. "If that's what you want." Louis won't want it all the time, but in this fantasy, he can have whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. 

"You could just… If you wake up hard, and I'm still asleep you could just, just take the plug out and put your cock in. Even while I sleep."

"Shit, Lou," Nick says weakly, backing Louis into the wall and aligning their hips, rubbing against him. Louis's hard again, wet and leaking on his belly. He looks completely lost in it and he's so, so pretty. Nick's pretty boy. "If that's all right with you."

"Wanna be yours," Louis says. "You can. You can do that. If you're hard you should be inside me, yeah? No reason to not be in my mouth or—or my arse if you're hard, no matter what time it is, or what I'm doing."

"Need to fuck you," Nick gasps, losing his bloody mind. Louis's so fucking hot, his voice, the things he's _saying_ , Jesus. "Let's go get your plug, hmm? So Daddy can fuck you full."

"Want that so much," Louis says. "'s'all I can think about. All the ways you can use me."

"Fuck," Nick says. He strokes Louis's hair away from his face even as he's nudging him out into the bedroom and down onto the bed. He goes for the drawers by the bathroom door, opening one of them and coming back out with a pink, silicone plug, medium sized. He hides it in the curve of his fist before going back over to the bed. He steps into the open V of Louis's legs, reaching for the towel so that he can towel dry Louis's hair one-handed. "Don't want you getting a chill," he says, repeating Louis's words from earlier. "You've got a holiday to enjoy."

Louis smiles up at him, even as he's curling his fingers around Nick's fist. "Daddy," he says. "Is that for me?"

Nick turns his fist up, and opens his fingers. The pretty pink plug sits in the middle of his palm. "Think you'd like that inside of you?" he asks, towelling the last of the excess water out of Louis's hair. "Think you'd like Daddy to fuck you, and then plug you up with your very own plug?"

Louis leans in and kisses Nick's hip. "Yes, please," he says, and Nick grins down at him, tilting his chin up, stroking his cheek. 

"Good boy," he says, and then busies himself towelling his own hair so that he's not dripping wet anymore. When he's done, he drops the towel on the floor and opens the drawer in the bedside table, retrieving the lube he put there earlier. There are condoms in there too, but his heart jumps at the thought of not using them. He closes the drawer. "On your hands and knees, lovely. Want to finger you open, make sure you're as wet and as slick and as open as you can be, sweetheart."

Louis is so obedient, so intrinsically submissive, and he probably has no idea. He gets to his hands and knees at once, dipping his shoulders a bit to present his arse to Nick. Nick palms over one cheek, and then the other, and then presses a kiss to the small of Louis's back. "You're arse is heavenly, pet. Best arse I've ever seen on any man. Was made just for me, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Louis answers at once, voice a bit thick already. "Daddy?"

"Yes darling boy?"

"Can I hold it? My plug? My pink plug?"

Nick hums agreeably and folds it into Louis's hand. It makes Louis drop down onto his elbows so he can handle it, but that just pushes his delectable arse up a bit more for the taking as Nick climbs onto the bed behind him. "I soaked them all in soapy water before I packed them," Nick tells him, because Louis is holding it close to his mouth, looking uncertain. "It's perfectly clean. You can taste it, if you want. Have you ever had a toy in your mouth?"

"No."

Nick can't see very well, but he can hear Louis's lips and tongue move over the silicon, and between the gap of Louis's thighs as he lubes up his fingers, he catches glimpses of his pretty pink mouth closing over the plug. He suckles at it messily until Nick kneels behind him again. Louis's really aroused, really into it. Nick will have to test the waters, this week. Louis might like having a nice thick toy in his mouth while Nick fucks him, might like to be completely full. 

Nick parts Louis's cheeks with both hands, leaving smears of lube across his skin. Louis's hole is pretty and pink and clean. Nick breaths over it to hear Louis gasp. "Did it hurt when they waxed you here?"

"Only a bit," Louis answers, so, so obedient. "It was real like, sharp, and fast, and it burned hot a bit after."

Nick smirks and licks across Louis's hole just once, teasing. "You liked it," he says.

"Yeah," Louis breathes.

"You're fucking wonderful, Lou," Nick tells him.

"I know, I know," says Louis, and Nick laughs and tongues at his rim again. "Put it in, Daddy, please? Lick in."

Christ. Nick takes his time, works his tongue in slowly, coaxing him loose and then jabbing in sharply so Louis cries out. He's loud, unrestrained, riding back against Nick's face in slow undulations, plug still held in his fist. "Taste so good, baby," Nick tells him. He tastes like skin, anyway, and a bit of lube. Nick presses one finger in and it slides in easy, Louis's body clenching down tight around it.

" _Daddy_ ," Louis gasps, clawing at the duvet. "Don't make me come. Don't wanna come 'til you're inside me, please?"

Nick leaves his finger there, still, and palms Louis's arse. "Okay, sweetheart. Take your time. Get yourself sorted. Tell me when you're ready and I'll go on." He doesn't move, and Louis drops his face down onto his hands, breathing into the pillow. He still has the plug in his fist, spit slick and wet, and Nick's dick gets harder at the sight of it, at Louis, so obedient and lovely, struggling to get a hold of himself. 

Nick strokes his back. "Lou?"

"You can go again," Louis tells him, cheek still pressed to the pillow. "More fingers. Don't want to be tight for you. Want you so much."

"I know you do. You're so desperate, aren't you? For Daddy's cock inside of you. It's what you need."

"Yeah," Louis says, one long exhale as Nick slides a second finger in alongside the first. Nick doesn't want him to come, so he tries to avoid his prostate, concentrating just on getting him nice and open. He still doesn't know what the scars mean, and what the implications of them are, but one thing is for certain: until he knows otherwise, he's doing this slowly, and he's doing it well. He tucks in a third finger alongside the first two after a while, when Louis is breathing rough and loud into the pillow. 

"You're so wet, now," Nick says, sliding his fingers out. "I think I could just slide on in. Turn over, love."

"God," Louis manages. He rolls onto his back, knees up, bottom lip caught between his teeth. He's still holding on to the plug. 

Nick squeezes out more lube onto his palm. "Let me see you, little one," he says. "Let me see you with that plug in your mouth. Getting it all ready." He wraps his fist around his dick, sliding the lube down from the crown to root. It's unfamiliar, this kind of condom-less prep, and he's mad for it, desperate for him, for this lad and everything he is, laid out in front of him. 

Louis whines, eyes dark on Nick's hand slicking himself up. His toes curl into the sheets and he breathes, _Daddy_ , before bringing the toy to his mouth again. It's small, because it's only the third time they've done this, and Louis's still so tight, but it looks huge against Louis's lips. He slides the tip of it over his lips a few times, and then opens his mouth and laps at it with little kitten licks, getting it good and wet before he opens his mouth up and pushes it in properly. His cheeks hollow out and he only takes it a little more than halfway in, fingers around the flared base. He looks so unbelievably hot that Nick has to close his eyes and grip the base of his dick hard to calm himself down.

"Christ, baby, that mouth."

"S'that how you'll teach me how to deep throat you, Daddy? I'll practice on toys?"

"Practice on everything, yeah," Nick murmurs, opening his eyes again. Louis's pulled the plug from his mouth but his lips are all wet. He's holding it loosely in his left hand, and he tugs one of his knees with his right hand to spread himself open wider.

"Want you so much," he croaks, eyes wet. He pushes his hips up, arse off the bed like an offering. "Want you bare inside me, Daddy, want it so much, need it, so big, look how big you are."

Nick settles himself between Louis's legs, forcing himself to go so slow, to treat Louis gently. Louis tilts his head back and lets out a desperate sob when Nick's slick dick rubs over his arse. Nick strokes Louis's belly to settle him, then grips the base of his cock to line himself up. "So beautiful, love, can you look at me?"

Louis blinks at him. He's red all over, quivering, cock flush with blood at the head. 

Nick locks their eyes together and slowly, so slowly, presses inside.

It's like nothing he's ever felt before. He can feel every clench of Louis's arse, how hot he is inside, squeezing so close around every vein of his cock. Louis's breathing in gasps, and Nick's holding his breath, the pleasure too intense, everything too extraordinary to properly process. By the time he's buried in to the root, Louis's hole stretched so pretty and tight around him, skin to skin, Nick is trembling.

He lowers himself down carefully, bracing himself up with an elbow next to Louis's head. He pushes his fingers into Louis's hair and breathes his name. He knew, he _knew_ that it was going to be intense, but he had no idea how intimate it would feel.

"Hi," he says, a little stupidly, and Louis looks up at him, bright-eyed, and brings his hands up to cup Nick's face. The plug is gone, dropped somewhere, Nick doesn't care where. He cares about this, about Louis's flushed cheeks and the way his eyes shine. Louis's hand cupping his face, Nick's dick deep inside of him, Louis hooking his legs around Nick's thighs to give a better angle. 

"Hi, yourself," Louis says, and he whines as Nick changes the angle. "This feels—you're inside of me."

"I know," Nick ducks in to kiss his mouth. "You okay?"

Louis nods, chewing on his lip. "Daddy, please. Move, please. Fuck me."

Nick kisses him again, sliding out a little so he can fuck back in. He can feel everything, how fucking tight Louis is, how hot and desperate and needy he is, clenching down around him, pushing down as Nick presses in, the two of them together with nothing in between. 

Louis brushes his hair away from his face, Nick's quiff dropping as he fucks back into him, Louis's feet hooked together behind his back. The angle's perfect and it feels incredible, and he's fucking in and out of him, sliding further out each time so he can fuck in longer, and harder. He pants into Louis's kiss, Louis's hands still on his face, grounding him, keeping him here. 

"Daddy," he says again, "Daddy, my daddy. More, please, please."

"Anything for you," Nick says, and he fucks into him. His orgasm feels just on the edge of his consciousness, gathering pace as Nick continues to fuck Louis, Louis's lovely dick trapped between them, pre-come leaking. Nick has a cage for him, if Louis wants it. a pretty little cage for Louis's dick to go in. Keep him soft. He wants it so much. He wants it all so much. 

"'m gonna come," Louis chokes, eyes clenched shut. Nick kisses him again and again, fucking in harder and deeper, changing the angle so that Louis cries out, tears falling down his temples into his hair. He babbles Nick's name, says, "Daddy, Daddy, gonna make me come," and it's only seconds and one more thrust before he's spilling so hard between them, all over his stomach, his fingers tangling into Nick's hair. Nick swallows his cry, licking into Louis's mouth and shoving in again and again, Louis clamping down so tight on him in waves.

Pleasure shoots up Nick's spine. His cock feels just huge inside Louis, and Louis looks so wrecked and fucked out underneath him, trembling in the aftermath of his orgasm, eyes bright. "Lou," Nick pants, kissing him again. He's gonna come, fuck, he's gonna lose it. "Baby, my baby, my sweet, pretty boy."

"C'mon," Louis urges. "C'mon, Daddy, come inside me. Been so long since you've come, yeah? Gonna be so much of it, fill me up so full, plug me up so it stays inside me. Mark me up inside. Yours, yours."

Louis's talking his way to another hard-on and Nick fucks into him three, four more times and then careens over the edge. It rushes through his whole body, his cock throbbing, a week's worth of waiting all built up. Louis's eyes go wide and his mouth opens, head tilting back. His hands clutch at Nick's shoulders and Nick has to look away. Louis's legs clamp down around him tight, and Nick murmurs Louis's name into his neck, riding through the waves of it, pleasure so intense it's almost pain. He hasn't come so hard in _years_.

"Oh, god, can feel it. Your come's inside of me. You're so big, there's so much," he's rambling and Nick can hardly keep up with the words, Louis's clenching arse wringing him out.

"Louis—"

"Want to keep it inside," Louis says. "Please, Daddy." He clutches at Nick's shoulders, desperate. 

"I know, baby," Nick says. He'd stay inside of Louis for longer, just go soft inside of him and slide on out, but Louis is het up and needy and holding onto him so, so tight. "Where's your plug?"

Louis scrabbles around on the sheets, coming back with the plug in his hand. "Nick—"

"It's okay, we're going to get you all plugged up, love."

He wants to collapse down on the sheets next to Louis and just close his eyes until his heart rate goes back to normal, but he can't do that, not yet, not when Louis needs something of him, something he can give. Something he _wants_ to give. He sits back on his heels instead, and lubes up the plug, nice and slick, lube all over his hands, and he positions it at Louis's hole, where Nick's dick is inside of Louis still, condom free, bare. He can't get over that. He just can't. He slides out as he slides the plug in, and Louis lets out a long, keening cry as the plug goes in, tears at the corners of his eyes. 

"Does that feel nice, Louis?" he asks, running his fingers over the base of the plug. 

"Yes," Louis says, and he reaches for him, and Nick goes easily, lying down on the sheets next to him and hooking his ankle over Louis's. He strokes at Louis's nipples with the pad of his thumb. "It feels—like I've got you inside of me still. Like I'm yours. Like you made me yours."

"You are mine," Nick tells him. He needs to go and clean himself up, wipe himself down. Come back with a damp cloth to wipe at Louis's stomach. He stays where he is instead, just for a few more minutes. Kissing Louis, curled up in bed. 

Nick does get up, eventually, laughing at the unhappy sound Louis makes. Nick kisses his face and his nose and his mouth and then gets up and pads into the bathroom for a flannel. When he gets back, Louis is squirming a bit on the bed, half hard, testing out how the plug feels inside him. Nick wipes himself off and climbs back into bed, grinning.

"Feel good?"

"Uh-huh," says Louis, eyes heavy-lidded and mouth pulled into a soft smile. "Yeah. Like that I can feel it."

"We'll keep it in the rest of the night, hmm? Be still." Louis does at once, such a good, obedient boy. Nick wipes him down carefully, and once he's done, he sneaks his hand between Louis's legs and cups his balls, squeezing gently, fingers pressing into the base of the plug until Louis moans.

"Yeah, yeah, leave it in."

"Gonna make you come again," Nick murmurs, kissing his way down Louis's torso, over his belly button and down his smooth belly. "Want to taste you."

"God, Daddy," Louis wriggles on the sheets, trying to press up against him, but Nick just presses his mouth to Louis's thigh and pins him to the bed with the flat of his hand to his hip. 

"Keep still," Nick says, sliding his hand between Louis's legs, pressing his fingertips to the silicone base of the plug. 

Louis whines, but he's Nick's good boy, and he stays still, beautifully obedient. 

"Going to use you," Nick tells him, since this is what Louis's been asking for. "You're all plugged up here, and I'm going to suck your dick, but that leaves your mouth, baby." He kisses the curve of Louis's hip, and strokes his hand up Louis's side, up to the smooth underarm and over his shoulder and up to his chin. 

"You want me to—" Louis's voice catches. 

"Suck them, baby. Get them wet. Keep that mouth busy." He keeps his other hand on the base of Louis's plug, pressing in ever so slightly, releasing. He's barely fucking him at all, but Louis's cock is leaking, pre-come slick across the tip. Nick tongues at the slit, gaze fixed on Louis, who takes Nick's fingers into his mouth and starts to lick, and suck, and work them over, one by one, all of them together. It shouldn't be as hot as it is. 

Nick licks around the crown, at Louis's foreskin slid back, taking more of him in with every breath. Louis is loud even when he's being quiet, moaning around Nick's spit-slick fingers, and it makes Nick want to do this for fucking ever. His beautiful, beautiful boy, with all of his secrets and his scars and his charm. Nick's in love with a lad almost half his age, and he doesn't want to change a thing. He swallows him down, working at his dick, and he stops nudging at Louis's plug in favour of cupping his balls, squeezing gently as Louis cries out around Nick's fingers. 

He's going to come so much this week, and Nick can't wait. 

Louis gets his fingers in Nick's hair, wrapping his other hand around Nick's wrist to take his fingers deeper into his mouth. He wants to learn to deep throat, Nick remembers, just as Louis spreads his legs a bit more and his abs tighten, little whimper caught up all around Nick's fingers. He comes hard and fast into Nick's mouth and Nick swallows him all down, revelling in the taste of him; his sweet, good boy.

Louis is breathing heavy, flushed all over, a little sweaty. Nick pulls his fingers out of Louis's mouth and focuses on his nipples instead, wet all over as he pinches at him and swallows Louis's whimpers in kiss after kiss. Louis's all naked and warm and so very pretty, colour in his cheeks. He digs his fingernails into Nick's back and wraps both legs around him and flips them over with a flex of his thighs. Nick hits the mattress with a little oof, and Louis is looking terribly smug sitting astride him.

"Proud of yourself, love?"

"Yes," Louis sniffs. Nick rests his hands on Louis's hips and Louis leans down to kiss the tip of Nick's nose. "Thank you for my present."

Nick's stomach flips, all heat and, God, but he's so far gone for this boy. "You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

"Got you inside me, don't I? 'Course I like it."

Nick laughs at that, because Louis is leaning over him, dropping kisses to the end of Nick's nose, and Nick knows he's going cross-eyed trying to focus on him. "I should hope so," he says, "because that's going to be the first of many. Going to keep you plugged up as long as you want it, love."

"What else did you buy me?" Louis asks, sitting back a bit and wriggling down so that his cock slides awkwardly over Nick's. "Tell me again."

"Greedy," Nick admonishes. He catches Louis's wrists in his hands. He's got no intention of going through the contents of his suitcase just yet. He nips at the inside of Louis's wrist with his teeth. 

"That's me," Louis says, lightly, squirming a bit. "Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"You'll have to wait and see," Nick says. "Don't pout, love. I'm still not telling."

"I want presents," Louis says, still pouting. He tries to get his hands free from Nick's grip, but Nick doesn't give up easily. 

"There's a fire downstairs," Nick says, deliberately changing the subject.

"Do you want to come again? I could make you."

Nick hasn't got unlimited erections, unlike some people round here. "You're still not getting presents yet," he says. He kisses Louis's fingers. "Come downstairs with me. There's a bar. We could have champagne. Champagne and chocolates in front of the fire. Take the duvet down."

"We could just grab one from one of the nine thousand bedrooms along the way," Louis suggests, looking as if he's more than amenable to the idea of moving rooms. He's lost the pout, at least. He leans in to kiss Nick's ear. "I could practice deep-throating," he whispers. "Would you like that? In front of the fire?"

"We'll see," says Nick, even though it's rather impossible to hide his interest when he's naked and Louis is rubbing himself all over him. "If you're a good boy."

"I'm always a good boy."

Nick brings his hand down, smacking Louis's bum, and Louis yelps and gives Nick a baleful look. Nick smiles up at him. "Get yourself downstairs then, baby, and make us some tea. You'll need your throat all nice and relaxed, won't you?"

Louis beams at him and kisses him soundly, and then bounds off the bed. He falters a little, says, "Oh," and shivers, reaching back to touch the base of the plug. God he's gorgeous, so hot and so responsive and Nick's going to get to show him so, so many things. 

"Good, innit?" Nick says lazily, still sprawled out on the bed.

"Shut up," says Louis, blushing, and he sticks his tongue out before disappearing out the door. Nick hears him banging around in one of the rooms on the floor below, probably getting a duvet, and he gets up himself and pulls on a pair of pants, because he wants Louis to work for his reward.

By the time he makes his way downstairs, Louis's wrapped up in a blue quilt and humming as he sets up the kettle in the kitchen. The fire is already roaring, and Louis's plugged in his phone because there's an Arctic Monkeys song playing on the surround sound speakers.

"You got Yorkshire tea," Louis says, pleased.

"Course I did. What do you take me for?"

"You're the best boyfriend ever, is what you are," Louis tells him. Nick can't even keep himself from smiling.

"I'm trying," Nick says, and Louis bumps his elbow into Nick's, blushing a little as he fumbles in the cupboard for mugs for the tea. He pours water on the Yorkshire teabags and then nudges in front of Nick, cheeky little bastard. Nick wraps an arm around his waist and anchors him back against him. He kisses the back of Louis's neck. "So coming away was a good thing, then?"

Louis gives up trying to keep the quilt up at this point, and wraps his arms around Nick's neck instead. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asks. "This is like—god. I was so stressed out and I was so busy and it was rubbish. I just wanted to see you. And then you bring me _here_. To this. This is like, the poshest place I've ever _seen_ , let alone stayed in. What are you on about, you great big fucking idiot, asking if coming away was a good idea?" He flicks Nick on the side of the head. "Are you deranged? Seriously, don't give me that look. Asking me if coming away was a good idea. For fuck's sake."

Nick takes that as a _yes_. He rolls his eyes and kisses Louis's forehead. "I'm glad it's made you happy."

Louis blushes a bit at that, and bumps his knee into Nick's. "It's not this that's making me happy," he says, not entirely meeting Nick's eyes. "It's you, you idiot. You don't have to show off to me. We could have gone to a caravan in Clacton-on-Sea and I would have been happy."

"It's November. No one goes to a caravan in November. Unless they've got a death wish."

"We could have wrapped up," Louis pokes Nick in the chest. "I'm just saying. This is pretty much the most perfect thing anyone has ever done for me, but you didn't have to. I'm not here for your money, whatever you might think."

Nick slides his hands down inside the mass of quilt, and cups Louis's bum. "I know," he says, kissing the corner of his mouth. "But let me do nice things for you, all right? I want to do nice things for you."

Louis closes his eyes, and rests his cheek against Nick's chest. "All right," he says. "You can take me on holiday and I won't complain."

"Good," Nick says, and he reaches past Louis to scoop the tea bags out with what is probably a terribly expensive silver teaspoon. "Hey, you're going to have to let me go if you want me to put milk in these."

Louis pretends to bite his chest. "Never," he says. "You're just going to have to put up with me fused to you forever, now."

Nick can think of worse things.

They end up wrapped up together on an oversized, incredibly comfortable armchair with their tea on the table next to them. The quilt is wrapped all around them, and the fire is gorgeous, and it's warm and comfortable and Louis feels so good, resting against him in a pile of sleepy boy, head tucked underneath Nick's chin and his ear over Nick's chest. _Listening to Nick's heartbeat_ , Louis tells him. 

They must both be a bit caught up in the romance of it all. 

Nick's just on the cusp of sleep when Louis gets squirmy.

"Hey, hey," Nick grouses, yawning and trying to pull Louis back in, rubbing at his belly. 

"Hey, hey," Louis mimics, and climbs into Nick's lap, knees on either side of Nick's hips. He touches their noses together and they both go cross-eyed. Louis laughs. "It's beautiful up here."

"Beautiful from where I'm sitting too," Nick murmurs, stroking Louis's cheek, and Louis blushes and ducks his head, biting his lip. Nick kisses him softly, opening his legs a bit so that Louis's thighs are spread wider. He wants to feel all of him, all the time, doesn't ever want to be without him. Louis goes pliant for him, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck and Nick can't get enough of him. He rubs his hands up and down Louis's back, down the arch of his spine, around to his stomach to trail over the mess of scar tissue there just above his hip, and up over his chest until he stops at Louis's nipples. Louis gets all shuddery at once and mewls into Nick's mouth, pressing into it when Nick pinches at his nipples until they're hard and sensitive and Louis has to break the kiss to cry out weakly into Nick's neck.

"You like that," Nick says, which is sort of blatantly obvious. 

"Not even a little bit," Louis says, mouth pressed to Nick's neck. "Not even at all."

Nick laughs at that, and pinches them again. "Fibber."

Louis whines, breathless against Nick's skin. "Only a little bit," he says. "Nick, please."

"You want to ride me?" Nick asks. He's hard again, and he strokes his hands down over Louis's back, to the curve of his bum, thumbs pressed to the dimple in the small of his back. "We'll take the plug out, and fill you up with my cock, how about that, love? That sound nice, little one? Then afterwards, if you want, we can put the plug back in."

"Yes," Louis nods, hiding his face in Nick's neck again. "Please. I want to be so full. Please, Daddy."

Nick had brought the lube down, and he lets the duvet fall down to their knees as he instructs Louis to hold his hand out. He stands them up and walks them over to the huge sofa even as he's squeezing out lube onto Louis's outstretched palm. "Get me all lubed up," he says, laying back down on the sofa and getting Louis to kneel up over him. "Come on, baby."

The fire's crackling in the hearth, the lamps on low so that the flames dance in the shadowlight, creating patterns across the walls as Louis wraps his fist around Nick's cock, lubing him up. 

"Good boy," Nick says, hands to Louis's lovely, smooth thighs. He can't stop touching him, hairless and so, so soft to the touch. He strokes his hands round to the back, where the scars cast ridges and bumps over his skin, and all of Louis is perfect, even the broken bits. He's biting his lip as he lubes Nick up, his hair falling into his face, his cheeks flushed from the heat of the fire. "And when you're done, we'll slide the plug out, and make sure you're ready for me, little one. All ready and waiting for your Daddy."

"'m ready," Louis pants, fisting Nick's cock so impatiently that he's clumsy, making a mess everywhere. Nick wants to come inside him again, mark him up inside and plug him up so full of Nick's come it'll run down his thighs when they take it out again. He ruts up into Louis's hand, flushed all the way down his chest, and palms Louis's fat dick and presses his fingers in hard against the base of the plug. Louis whimpers, face scrunched up in pleasure. "God, Daddy, please, 'm so ready."

"All right, baby, I've got you. Gonna take your pretty plug out now, okay?"

Louis nods breathlessly, rutting into Nick's hand like he can't help it. He's shaking with how much he needs it. Nick settles him as best he can, one hand on Louis's hip to hold him steady, and he grips the plug in the other and gently, so very gently starts to coax it out. Louis is _loud_ , every centimetre of movement inside him wrenching a little cry out. Louis swears beautifully. "Wait, wait, let me—" and he shuffles a bit, plug still partially inside him as he lines himself up, ready to sink down right onto Nick's throbbing dick as soon as he can.

"So good for Daddy," Nick murmurs, and eases the plug out the rest of the way. Louis wastes absolutely no time, thighs straining as he lowers himself down and God, he feels _so good_. Nick can't breathe or think and he's going cross-eyed from how good Louis feels, how fucking tight he is, how Nick is fucking his come back into him. Louis's so hot inside, clenching so hard around him, breathing in quiet little gasps and dry sobs with his eyes closed, flushed and sweaty and needy with pleasure. 

"Daddy," he babbles. "Daddy, Daddy, _Daddy_ , God, you're so big, so fucking big inside me, can't—God, God, _please_."

Nick rolls his hips up, unable to help himself, wanting to fuck inside of Louis as hard and as much as he can. He's slick and hot and tight, even after the plug, and Louis cries out, sinking down on Nick's dick, rocking up again just so he can press down. Nick strokes his hands over Louis's thighs, his hips, his arse, fingers going to part his cheeks and find where Nick's dick is sliding inside of him. He's slick and sensitive and it's so fucking dirty, what they're doing, keeping him plugged up. He wants to do it until Louis gapes open and leaks around the plug, wants to use him as much as Louis wants to be used. 

Louis bends down to cover Nick's mouth with his own, kissing him breathless. Nick pinches at his nipples just so that he can swallow down Louis's desperate cry. 

"Going to look after you so well," Nick tells him, cupping Louis's face in the palm of his hand. Louis is flushed and breathless and chewing on his lip, pink-cheeked and beautiful as he fucks down onto Nick's dick. "Going to look after you all this week, baby."

"Nick," Louis whimpers, and it's almost a sob. His thighs are quivering with the strain as he rocks down onto Nick's dick, and it's so tight and so hot that Nick knows he's not going to last long. "Please, Nick. Come in me, please. I want your come."

"Christ," Nick says, increasing his pace. His balls are tightening up. He wonders what Louis will look like in the pretty pink underwear he's bought him, palest pink lace with a ribbon bow in the middle. Maybe he can sleep like that, curled up in Nick's lap, pretty and smooth and _his_. "Louis, love."

"Please, Nick," Louis begs. "Please."

Nick gets his hand on Louis's cock and wanks him fast, hard tugs that have Louis shaking, crying out and arching his back, coming in thick, hard spurts all over Nick's hand and his own belly and he's so bloody, blindingly gorgeous that Nick's heart feels like it's going to pound right out of his chest. His entire body wrenches with the force of his orgasm, arse coming up off the sofa as he buries himself in so deep and fills Louis up so hard he may actually be coming his brains out.

His vision whites out and he feels dizzy and sated and hot, and Louis is so wet and hot inside, still clenching tight around him as they ride it out, his whole body tense and his hands tight enough on Nick's arms to leave bruises until he just goes lax, breathing heavy, sweat-damp hair stuck to his forehead.

Nick sits up, careful to keep himself shoved in deep. Louis slumps against his chest, arms circling Nick's neck, and Nick presses their mouths together softly, touching him again and again. Louis's so sweet and hot and breathless against him, so lovely. Nick wishes he were younger, so he could fuck him again, pin Louis down to the sofa and fuck him over and over and over until Louis's begging him to stop because it feels too good.

"God," Louis breathes, all fucked out, mouth open against Nick's neck. "God, you're. You're really good at that."

"Yeah?" Nick asks, smiling against Louis's cheek. 

"Yeah. You've had a lot of practice, though, being so old."

Nick smacks Louis's bum and Louis laughs and slowly lifts himself off, making a face. Come leaks down his thighs and it's incredibly hot and also makes Nick's chest tight, seeing the evidence like that. They're a complete sweaty mess and there's lube and come everywhere. It doesn't stop Nick from pulling Louis in close and tickling him until he's crying from laughing so hard and breathless, kicking and punching kitten-like at Nick, giggling so hard he's red all over where Nick's got him pinned to the couch.

"You're a menace," Nick tells him.

"I'm _your_ menace," says Louis, and Nick just has to kiss him, again and again and again.

They clean up with a flannel from one of the downstairs bathrooms, and spoon on the big sofa under the duvet. Louis's tucked in close, warm and sleepy in Nick's arms, so pretty in the firelight. He yawns hugely, turning his face into the sofa cushion, and Nick's heart feels swollen. _I love you_ he thinks, kissing the back of his neck. _I love you, I love you, I love you._

"Sleepy," Louis says, after a while. He stretches a bit, cat-like, coming back to rest in Nick's lap, arms around his neck. Nick considers the possibilities: going upstairs to the third floor bedroom where they've set up camp, going up to any of the bedrooms between here and there, or just staying here, sprawled across the huge sofa, the lamps still on and the fire flickering. 

Nicks tucks his face into the curve of Louis's shoulder, and closes his eyes. 

~*~

He's woken up by Louis shifting position, grumpily rolling over him and nudging Nick awake. 

"Oi," Nick says. 

Louis cants his hips down, his lovely morning wood pressed into Nick's hip. It's getting light outside, the fire out, the first sunlight stretching its sleepy way across the sky and in through the windows. "Want to come," he says, leaning down and nosing into Nick's neck, mouth pressed to his jaw, up to his mouth. He tastes a little sleepy-stale, but perfect. His hair is all flat at one side and sticky-up at the other and there are blanket marks on his cheek. He's flushed pink and is warm all over, rocking his dick down against Nick's. "Please, Nick. Let me come."

"You're a terror," Nick says, clearing his throat. He's still half asleep. 

"Thought you were going to wake me up sliding inside of me," Louis says, a trifle petulantly. He rolls his hips against Nick's. 

Nick kisses the corner of his mouth. "If you ask me nicely enough, love, I might do that for you tomorrow." He strokes his hand down, playing with each of Louis's nipples in time, Louis's breath hitching softly with each pinch. He ghosts his fingertips down Louis's side so that Louis skitters away, ticklish. When he wraps his hand around Louis's dick, so, so soft beneath his fingertips, Louis stutters his hips forward, breath a long exhale against Nick's cheek. "Hey," Nick warns. "Nice and slow, love. It's early, we don't rush."

Louis grumbles, frowning, but he doesn't fuck up into Nick's fist any more. "Nick," he whines. "Want to come."

Nick ignores that. "You're so smooth," he says, hand coming to rest at the base of Louis's cock, thumb ghosting over where Louis's pubes should have been. "So soft and smooth for me. You like that?"

"Yeah," Louis says. His hips stutter forward again, staccato, but Nick doesn't reprimand him. "Feels really pretty."

"Looks pretty too," Nick tells him, and doesn't move his fist. He wants to drag this out, wants to see Louis petulant and whining and begging for more. He can't wait to put him in the little cock cage he has upstairs, the beautiful little cage with the padlock that has _N &L_ engraved. He'd belong to Nick then, even more than he does right now. It's a lot, and it's quick, but it feels right, and it feels like Louis is here with him. He noses at Louis's throat, Louis's head tipped back. "I got you a collar, love." There's no bigger way to say, _you're mine_. He just hopes Louis wants it as much as he does. 

" _Daddy_ ," Louis whines. "A collar?"

"Yeah, baby," Nick murmurs, fisting Louis so, so slowly, getting him good and wet with pre-come and Louis is being such a good boy trying to hold still. "Got it specially made, just for you, just for you."

"Want it," Louis whispers, quiet like a secret. His hips jerk a little bit when Nick thumbs over the slit and Nick kisses him. Louis's voice is rough and raspy and so needy. "Want it, Nick, want to wear it for you, want to be yours."

"We'll put it on after our bath this morning, sweetheart. Get you all squeaky clean and put your collar on. Maybe a bit more, too, if you'd like."

"More?" Louis asks, voice catching. His eyes are dark, and he's leaking all over Nick's hand. Nick's never been with anyone who gets so wet, so excited. Louis's so fucking hot he's nearly blinding. "What more?"

"Bought you some things to wear, baby, with your pretty smooth skin, mm? Some knickers that will look so nice with your collar."

Louis moans out loud, the sound hitching in his throat, and his dick twitches so hard Nick can feel it in his hand. "God, wanna blow you. Wanna get pretty for you and want you to fuck my throat, Daddy."

Nick keeps stroking Louis so slowly, cupping his smooth balls in his other hand. So smooth all over, Louis's thighs and legs and chest. "Whatever you want, baby, I'll take care of you."

"Will you come on me?" Louis asks, lost in it, clutching at Nick's shoulders and shoving his hips down even though he's trying so hard to be good and stay still. "Will you come on my knickers?"

Jesus fucking _Christ_ , this kid is going to kill him. "I'll come all over you, Lou, get your knickers all messy. Come all over your cock and your balls and your belly and your nipples."

" _Daddy_ ," Louis chokes. "And my arse?"

"'Course, love. Mark you all over."

"Still slow, though? Morning slow?"

"Mm hmm," Nick says, kissing Louis's neck. "Early. Tell me when you're ready to come, all right?"

"Can I have your fingers in my mouth?"

"Course you can, love," Nick says, and there are butterflies in his stomach right now, the tiny wing beats of a thousand different feelings, and all of them how much he loves this beautiful, ridiculous, darling boy. "Get you all full up, huh? Good boy, aren't you? The best boy for Daddy." 

He runs his fingertips over Louis's lips, thumb pressed to his bottom lip. Louis breathes warm and hitched around his fingers, tongue darting out to lick. He very deliberately slows his hand down on Louis's dick, and Louis whines, licking at Nick's fingers, down to the first knuckle. 

"That's right, love," Nick goes on, hand barely moving on Louis's dick at all. Louis is so wet, pre-come blurting down over the tip and onto Nick's fingers. "You know how to show me you've got a beautiful mouth. You'll soon be able to take me all the way inside, won't you, little one? Suck me all the way down."

Louis whimpers around Nick's fingers, spit sliding down his chin. It's so deliciously filthy that Nick doesn't know what to do with it all. 

"You can decide, baby," Nick goes on, fucking his fingers in and out of Louis's mouth, spit going everywhere. "If you want me to come on you now, and have you all pretty in your knickers after our bath for a bit before I make a mess of you again, or if you want to be a mess straight away. Walk around covered in come, love. Which one do you want, little one?"

"Now," Louis mumbles, word caught up around Nick's fingers. He's trembling, so close to coming even though Nick's working him so slowly. "Now, now please now do it now, messy now, Daddy, please?"

Nick growls, needy and wanting and hungry. He pulls his fingers from Louis's mouth and pulls him into a hot, heavy kiss, pressing his tongue into Louis's mouth and moaning when Louis takes to it like it's Nick's dick. Nick has to fight to keep his hand steady, keep the pulls slow and soft and sleepy-morning easy, but something about it must get Louis hard, because he comes with a shocked inhale, wrenching away from Nick to cry out, and pulse into Nick's hand.

Nick isn't going to last much longer, too turned on by every thought he's having and every sound coming out of Louis's mouth. He manoeuvres Louis's still-shaking body underneath him, kisses him again and again and then flips him over. Louis goes willingly, gets his knees under him and his arse in the air and he's so fucking perfect Nick might die. 

He wanks himself fast, merciless, snubbing the head of his dick against Louis's tight hole, where lube has dried around it, and draping himself over Louis's back to kiss his neck and the soft hair. "So beautiful, baby, such a good boy Louis, gonna get you so messy, gonna get your pretty arse so messy."

"Please, please, please," Louis chants, squirming. He reaching behind himself to grab Nick and pull him close. Nick catches his mouth in a kiss. He digs his fingers into the quilt tangled underneath them, and ruts through his fist and against Louis's bum a few more times, before he loses it and comes everywhere, so much of it, all over Louis's arse and crack, getting him good and wet and messy.

Nick is so, so fucked.

Afterwards, he shifts them round so that he's lying down and Louis is on top of him; he palms Louis's arse over and over again, kissing him the whole time. Louis curls his fingers into Nick's hair and is pliant and open, legs stretched wide so that Nick can keep stroking his fingers over his hole. He just can't get enough of him, can't stop touching him, can't stop wanting him near. 

Louis nips at Nick's bottom lip. "So," he says. 

"Yes, love?" Nick asks, rubbing his palm over Louis's come-covered bum. "Something you wanted?"

"So, um," Louis says again, and ducks in to rub his nose against Nick's, which is in no way adorable. "We're here, in the Alps. Snow everywhere."

"Yes," Nick says. "Isn't it snow-mantic?"

"Oh god, you're awful." He sounds full of admiration, though, so Nick metaphorically pats himself on the back. "Just wondering if there was any plans at all to do any skiing. You know."

"Whatever you want. We can go down to the town to get kitted out."

"Do you think when we rent our stuff, I could maybe try a snowboard?" Louis blushes a little bit. "We came skiing when I was twelve, and then I went on a school trip when I was fifteen, and both times I wanted to try snowboarding, but it was too expensive. I can give you the money."

Nick very carefully does not say anything. He strokes his hand into the small of Louis's back instead. "I'll buy you whatever you want, baby," he says, finally. 

"No," Louis says. "I just—I'm not here because you'll buy me stuff. You know that, right? I just—I thought there might be a way I could try snowboarding."

Nick kisses him then, smoothing his hair behind his ear. He likes that Louis clearly has no idea at all what renting a place like this for a week is setting him back. He could buy a hundred excellent snowboards, and probably more. He doesn't care; it doesn't matter. He'd pay more if it meant having Louis to himself like this for a week. "You can try snowboarding," he says. "You can try whatever you want. My treat. We're on holiday. I've had an excellent year."

"Nick—"

"What else do you want to do?" Nick asks. 

Louis shrugs his shoulders a little. "Postcards," he says finally. "I want to send postcards to my mum and my sisters. And Harry and the others."

"Okay," Nick says.

"And maybe like, biscuits or something? To take back. Or something for the Christmas tree. For my mum. And Liam, he loves stuff like that."

Nick wishes Louis would ask for more. "All right," he says, curling his fingers into Louis's and bringing his hand up to his mouth to kiss. "We'll go shopping. Whenever you want."

Louis kisses Nick's chest a few times, and then his neck and then his collarbone, and then lifts his head. His hair is sticky-up and his face is still flushed red. Nick's been rubbing his come into Louis's arse. It's been a fantastic start to the morning.

"Are you going to make me breakfast?" Louis asks. "I need breakfast."

"You're so bossy." Nick can't help but grin. 

"I've got four younger sisters," says Louis. "I had to be to survive."

Nick kisses him, just because, and slowly sits them up. "Let's go and have a shower and I'll make a call to have breakfast brought in, how's that?"

Louis, settled on his lap now, crosses his arms and looks wary. "I dunno. Not quite as romantic as you cooking for me, is it?"

"I'll cook for you tonight," says Nick. "I promise. Now up you get. We've got knickers to try on and shopping to do."

Louis blinks, looking shy again, and rubs at his jaw idly, trying to be casual. "Do you think it would be safe to like… I mean, if I like them, could I wear them out? To the shops?"

Nick carefully tucks his fingers into Louis's. "I think so," he says. "Would you like that? Knowing how pretty you were under your clothes?"

Louis wriggles a bit. He's still trying to be casual. "Yeah." He bumps his elbow into Nick's. "You always make me feel so good about wanting this. It's nice. It's really nice."

"Well," Nick says, a trifle awkwardly. "It's mutual, innit?"

"Yeah, well. It's still lovely." Louis stands up. He stretches, arms above his head, yawning. He scratches his balls. "Didn't you say something about breakfast?"

"I did," Nick says. "Go and put the shower on, I'll follow in a minute. I'll call the housekeepers, get them to bring some breakfast in."

"We should make it hide and seek," Louis says, already heading for the stairs. He's leaving the duvet for Nick to drag back upstairs, obviously. "Which shower am I in? Only thirty-nine to choose from... will I be done before you find me?"

Nick laughs. "Be off with you," he says, already reaching for the phone on the coffee table. "And don't go using all the hot water."

~*~

Breakfast is fresh twists of bread, delivered still warm from the oven, large milky coffees, and the nicest black cherry jam Nick's ever had. Louis is vaguely bemused by the cold meat plate, but he helps himself to ham and sausage easily enough, his feet tangled in Nick's under the table. They're still in their dressing gowns, Nick's cold toes stroking at Louis's ankle as Louis pours them both orange juice. There are pastries too, but Nick's not as hungry as all that. He butters little pieces of bread, adding enough jam that it starts to slide off the edges and down over his fingers, and holds them out for Louis to take. 

Louis just leans in and bites them straight from Nick's fingertips, ridiculous boy that he is. 

It's something out of a romantic film, feeding each other bits of bread and jam and giggling at each other. Nick feels on top of the world, tucked away in this incredible chalet with his incredible boy, with nothing to do but be with each other. They'll shop, and Louis will get to snowboard, and they'll come back home plied with new things to be shipped home, and they'll spend the evening touching each other in every possible way until they pass out from exhaustion. It sounds like a good plan.

After breakfast, which Louis has no trouble leaving spread out in a mess all over the table, they go upstairs to clean their teeth and get dressed. While Louis is picking out what top to wear with his jeans, Nick walks to one of the drawers and pulls out the pair of knickers he told Louis about earlier.

Louis's watching him when he turns around, one of Nick's jumpers in his hand. He drops it on the bed and Nick holds the knickers up to show him properly. "You like them?"

"Yeah," Louis breathes.

"Try them on, mm? Don't want you to be uncomfortable all day."

Louis takes them like they're something fragile and precious and it's so cute Nick has fight back a smile. 

"Close your eyes," Louis demands.

"Lou," says Nick with a laugh, but he obediently closes his eyes until Louis says, "O-okay."

God, he's breathtaking, standing there smooth all over, small and clean and so pretty. The knickers are the softest pink, and the softest lace cupping his incredible arse, a little bow in the middle of the back waistband. Nick takes his hand and spins him slowly and takes a slow breath, light headed at the sight of his cock, half hard and tucked neatly into the front, head just barely covered by the waistband. There are two more little bows at his hipbones and they fit him just perfectly. Nick always did have an eye for sizes.

"God, love, you're so beautiful."

Louis's cheeks go very red and he ducks his head, smiling a bit. "Th-Thanks, Daddy."

"Do they feel good where you're all smooth now?" Nick asks.

Louis rubs his hand over the sides of them, down his lower abdomen where he's hairless and the knickers cover, skin showing through the lace. "God, I'm. Yeah. They're really. They're really soft. And I like…I like feeling them here," he gently palms his dick, "and here," and then turns to finger over the crease of his arse, where they're riding up a bit.

"They look good there," Nick says, turning Louis around again, full circle this time. "They look good everywhere, baby." He crooks his finger and slides it down over the crown of Louis's dick, the lace ruffling a little beneath his touch. "You're going to make such a mess of these, aren't you, love?"

Louis lets out a shaky breath. "Now?"

"No, love," Nick leans in to kiss Louis's cheek, shifting so that he can whisper in his ear. "You're going to have to be a good boy, and wait."

Louis tilts his chin up, jerkily. "You promised me a collar."

"That I did," Nick agrees, fingertips ghosting over Louis's throat. "Do you want to see it now, before we go out? Or when we get back in?"

Louis sounds a little ragged. "When we get back," he says. "Just wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten."

"I haven't," Nick says. "Come on. Clothes. We've got shopping to do."

He waits until Louis is turned away and pulling on his jeans before he adjusts himself. Christ, he could go down on Louis right the fuck now, swallow him down, mouth at him through the pale pink lace of his knickers. Such a beautiful, beautiful boy. His beautiful boy. 

They take a car to the shops, and Nick has so much fun dressing Louis (and himself) up in ski apparel that they spend a lot of time laughing in the fitting room in different jumpers and fleeces and ski pants that hang off Louis's hips so nicely Nick can't help but pin him to the wall and kiss him.

After they're suited up, (Louis's knickers replaced with more sport-friendly boxers) and have arranged for several other bags to be delivered to the chalet later, they head to the slopes. Nick usually skis, but he's a fair snowboarder as well, and is able to teach Louis the basics. Louis is a quick learner but so reckless, and he scares the life out of Nick at least four times trying to do things he is absolutely not trained to do. By the time the afternoon sun is beating down on them and the reservations Nick made at a restaurant in town are set for a late lunch, they're exhausted and a bit bruised all over. 

They shower separately back at the chalet, and get dressed again in more comfortable clothes, Louis swallowed up in Nick's jumper and Nick in a striped t-shirt and jacket and jeans. They drive into town and eat lunch overlooking the mountains, and each have a glass of wine.

"I was always a beer drinker," says Louis. "Cos it's cheap, you know, but I think I'm getting into wine. And champagne. I love your champagne."

Nick laughs. Louis likes to give him a hard time for being so posh, and he clearly has no idea just how much these drinks are that he likes so much, and is probably already planning to pick up a bottle at the tiny Sainsbury's across from his flat. Nick won't spoil his fun. "You're a delightful drunk, love," he promises. "And you look good with a wine glass in hand. That's difficult to do, you know. It took me years to perfect it. You just took to it like a fish to water."

"I'm full of hidden talents," Louis sniffs.

"What else can you do?" Nick asks, pouring Louis another glass. The sun shines brightly off the snow, and for a second, Louis is caught in a bright halo of sunlight. 

"I can ride a bike no-handed," Louis says, frowning a bit as he takes another gulp. "I can do a handstand and hold it. I won the school beetle drive and got a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles bauble for the Christmas tree."

"Laudable, laudable," Nick says, trying to ignore the little sad feeling in his stomach at the sneak peeks Louis gives him into how he rates himself sometimes. "You left off your prize-winning porridge making skills."

"And I make a mean cup of tea," Louis agrees. 

"You know you've just signed up to a lifetime of making me tea, don't you?" Nick says. "If you're the tea-making king, I'm never making any for you again."

"You have servants for that," Louis says. He finishes off his wine. "Can we get some chocolate before we go home, as well as the postcards? Swiss chocolate's supposed to be good, innit?"

"Anything you want, love," Nick says. He's still drinking his wine, enjoying watching Louis more than he's enjoying it for himself. "You ready to go?"

"Only if you are." He wriggles a bit on his seat. He's changed back into his knickers, Nick knows. The anticipation is beautiful. 

Nick pays the bill at the bar with lazy ease, eyes on Louis, who's leaning on the counter and reading the wine list. 

"I've paid university fees that cost less than this wine," Louis says loudly. "Is it made from the blood of unicorns?"

"It absolutely is." Nick smiles his thanks to the maître d', and Louis bumps into his side, tucking his hand into Nick's. "Come on, let's get you your postcards."

"Have we eaten anything so far that costs less than my flat does every month? Because this is ridiculous. Surely it can't be worth that much."

"We might have," Nick concedes. He hasn't looked at the prices. "Do you want to try over the road for postcards?" It's a little souvenir shop with wood-cuts in the window and a postcard rack by the door. There's a Christmas shop next door. There's always a Christmas shop. 

"If the postcards cost as much as my TV," Louis says, "then you and me are having words." 

"How much was your TV?"

Louis smiles. "It's a trick question. It's Harry's TV."

The shop is small and cute and full of postcards. They have a good time going through them all and Louis chooses about twenty that he carries around, wary to put any of them down, so Nick buys all of them, along with a silly snow globe of the mountains and four boxes of Swiss chocolates each for Zayn, Niall, Liam and Harry. Louis wants one also, but Nick promises that the ones at the resort office are far superior and Nick will feed them to him while Louis lounges about later tonight. 

The Christmas shop next door is a bit bigger and overwhelming with the amount of decorations and baubles. Nick gets side-tracked by some hand-painted Alice in Wonderland themed ones whilst Louis talks to the old woman running the counter about some sparkly ones that are either for his sisters or Harry. Nick's snapping pictures of his ornaments to send to Gillian, when there's a bit of a crash.

"I'm so sorry," Louis is saying when Nick turns around. He's in the corner by a stand of picture frames, holding one that he apparently caught just in time.

"That's fine," the woman is saying in accented English, patting his back and looking concerned. "Nothing is broken. Are you all right?"

He's ghostly pale when Nick gets to him, fingers trembling, his eyes locked on a man who's leaving the shop, an older woman on his arm, the two of them laughing together. "Lou?"

It seems to take Louis a second to come back to himself. He clears his throat and smiles shakily. "Hey, yeah, sorry," He murmurs, handing the picture frame back to the woman, who pats his shoulder and walks away to give them some space. 

"Are you all right?" Nick asks. The colour still hasn't returned to Louis's cheeks.

"Yeah," says Louis. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I just."

"Did you know that man?"

Louis shakes his head, takes a deep breath and tucks himself into Nick's chest quite suddenly, like he can't get close enough. "Can we, uh. Can we go back to the cabin now?"

"Yes," Nick says, and he wraps an arm around Louis's shoulders, keeping him as close as possible whilst the assistant puts their things through the till. He kisses the top of Louis's head. "It's all right, love." 

"I know," Louis says, but he's still shaking, pale and a little breathless. 

Nick pays for their stuff and grabs the bags in one hand. He'd only had a couple of very small glasses of wine with lunch on purpose so that he was safe to drive. They head back to where he's parked the car, and he doesn't let go of Louis the whole way. 

"You okay?" he asks, as he puts their stuff in the boot.

"I'm fine," Louis says, but he doesn't sound fine. He sounds a bit distant, like he's not quite here. 

"Did you know that man?" he asks again, as he opens the door for Louis to get in. 

Louis just shakes his head again, and doesn't get in the car. "He just—he looked like someone. That's all. It wasn't him. I'm fine. For a moment I thought—but I'm fine."

"Okay," Nick says. He doesn't know quite what to do for the best, but he's in love with Louis, and Louis is quite clearly scared, and Nick's heart aches for him. He bundles him up into a hug, instead, holding him as tight as he can, and Louis trembles in his arms, breath coming in tight little puffs against his neck. 

"I'm fine," Louis says, again. "You don't need to—I'm fine—"

"I know you are," Nick lies. "Let's just go home and then we can watch a film or something, all right? The housekeeper should have been in to give it a bit of a tidy, so we can just take over that massive sofa and curl up." 

"I still want my collar," Louis says, but his voice is muffled. 

"Good," Nick says, softly, and kisses the top of his head. "That can be arranged."

~*~

When they get back to the chalet, Nick pretends he doesn't see Louis checking that the door is firmly locked behind them.

Nick isn't used to being kept in the dark, and more than anything he's not used to patiently waiting to find out information that he wants to know. Someone he loves has been hurt, and not knowing the details is driving him positively mad. He has to bite his tongue on a thousand questions every time he sees or touches Louis's scars, or every time Louis makes a sound or a face in his sleep that's anything but happy or restful. The warnings he got from Louis's friends don't help at all, and the way Louis is so fierce and loud and brash and fearless 99% of the time and then can startle so easily, get small and quiet, fearful and down on himself from one moment to the next when someone accidentally sneaks up behind him, or he sees someone who reminds him of _someone_ , is horrible.

Nick really has no idea what happened to him. He has a few guesses, and sometimes late at night when Louis is at his own flat and Nick is in his own bed he'll get caught up thinking of things it could be, experiences Louis could've had that are so awful Nick can't believe his brain is even entertaining them.

But Louis has been so open with him about so many things, and he so obviously wants to keep this close to his chest and he may never want to tell Nick. And that's fine. That has to be fine. Nick just wishes he knew what things he should avoid, what triggers Louis has. He feels like he's going in blind and he's afraid he'll trip over something Louis doesn't want him to trip over.

Louis talks _a lot_ as they have a quick tour around the house (Louis's idea, checking in every room, trying so hard to seem casual). He talks about which postcards he'll send his sisters and when the last time he talked to them was. He talks about the pictures he texted Harry and the others and how terribly jealous they are to not be in a chalet big enough for thirty people and snowboarding and drinking expensive wine and champagne and eating expensive chocolates. He talks all the way around the chalet until they've checked everywhere, and got changed out of their outside clothes, and he finally starts to look relaxed.

"You really didn't have to do this, you know," Louis says. He's all tucked into the corner of the oversized sofa in the home cinema room, stripped of everything but his pretty knickers and looking a bit more comfortable and relaxed than before, when Nick walks in with a bag in one hand, Louis's collar in a soft velvet box inside it. "All this. I know it's so expensive."

"I didn't do it because it's expensive," Nick tells him, climbing onto the sofa with him. He's only in a pair of sinfully soft pyjama bottoms that are rolled up at the cuffs, but even now are still a bit too long. Louis snugs into his side at once and Nick kisses his hair. "I did it because we needed it. And I have very, very good taste. Would've chosen this place even if I was coming here alone."

"Really?" Louis asks. "Have you come to this kind of place by yourself?"

Nick shrugs a bit, hugging Louis a bit closer. He doesn't really recognise this intensely protective streak Louis has brought out in him, but he can't tamp it down, particularly not tonight. He wants to fight dinosaurs for him. "Once or twice," he says, kissing the top of Louis's head again. "When work's been particularly awful and I've wanted to punch a wall. I don't know. I'm more of a social person. Being alone doesn't always help."

"Yeah," Louis says, plucking at Nick's pyjama bottoms with his finger and thumb. "These are nice."

"I'll get you some," Nick says. "Present."

"You don't need to keep getting me presents," Louis says, but he doesn't look up. He just nestles closer, and even though he's happier and more relaxed than he was earlier, he's still too tense for Nick's liking. 

"Speaking of presents," Nick says, reaching for the bag next to him. "Do you want yours now?"

Louis nods, rubbing his cheek against Nick's chest. "Please," he says softly. "Want to be yours. Want to be yours so much."

Nick cards his fingers in Louis's hair. "My little one," he says, getting the velvet box out of the bag, and nudging it against Louis's thigh, a gentle tap. "You already are."

Louis huffs a breath. "Daddy. You open it."

Nick carefully cracks open the box. He'd picked it out a couple of days ago, a soft, black leather collar with a silver buckle and D-ring. He'd considered the thinnest ones first, but he'd wanted Louis to be able to feel it, remember that he's wearing it, know with every breath that he's Nick's. He runs his thumb over the leather before letting Louis touch it, tentative and a little unsure. "You like it?" he asks, after a while when Louis doesn't say anything. 

"Yeah," Louis says, his voice a little rough. "Does this mean that I'm yours?"

They have to talk about this, about how it's got so serious so quickly, about how Nick feels about him. They need to talk, but they don't need to do it now. "It does," he says. "Do you want me to put it on for you?"

Louis nods, pulling away from him, sitting up. He bares his throat, and Nick's breathless at the thought. He brushes his thumb over the line of his throat, over his Adam's apple, feeling him breathe. Louis's hair is getting long, curling into his fingers as Nick cups his face in his hand. He leans in to press his mouth to Louis's. 

He leans back, and carefully buckles the collar closed around Louis's throat. 

Louis makes a quiet, hot sound and he lifts his hands to it immediately, grazing his fingertips over the butter-soft leather and then hooking them into the D-ring. His hands look small and pale and pretty against it (though Nick has got to somehow get him to stop biting his fingernails), and Louis looks flushed and overwhelmed, his breathing a little heavy.

"Daddy," he whispers.

God, he looks so good. He looks _so good_ , and he's Nick's. Every part of him belongs to Nick. Nick's never felt so fiercely protective of anything in his life, including his work.

"My good boy," he praises, tugging Louis gently into his lap. "My good, sweet boy. All mine."

"Yours. Only yours."

"Only mine," Nick agrees. He grazes his knuckles up Louis's sides, back down to tease at the waistband of his knickers. He follows the line of lace down Louis's bum cheeks and then cups him in both hands, kneading. Seeing Louis in his collar is something he's been looking forward to, but he wasn't quite expecting how powerful the surge of heat would be when it happened. Louis bows his head submissively, peeking up at Nick through his long eyelashes. 

"Am I pretty, Daddy?"

"Oh God," Nick breathes, squeezing his arse again. "You're so pretty, my good boy. The prettiest. So smooth," he strokes up Louis's calves and thighs. "So pretty in your knickers and Daddy's collar."

Louis squirms. "Getting me hard, Daddy."

"Just the way I like it," Nick says, grazing Louis's dick with the crook of his finger. "Such a pretty boy, Lou."

"Yours," Louis says. "All yours."

"Yeah," Nick says, and he reaches for the DVD remote, pressing the power button. He's lined up _Before Sunrise_ from the DVD collection, and he can't quite hide his smile when Louis whines a little bit, rocking his hips up like he's trying to get Nick's attention. 

"Daddy," Louis says. "I'm hard."

"I know, love," Nick says. "And you're ever so pretty." He sits back against the cushions, opening his legs. Louis takes the bait and immediately scrambles into his lap, leaning back against Nick's chest, chin tilted up. 

"I can feel it whenever I breathe in and out," Louis says, as the menu music starts to play. 

"It's not too tight, is it?" Nick asks, sliding the tip of his finger underneath the leather, and tugging a little. 

Louis's breath hitches. "No," he says. "Not at all. It feels good."

"Good," Nick says, and he presses play, wrapping his other arm around Louis's waist. "Now watch the film, there's a good boy."

Louis makes a grumpy, grumbly kind of a noise, the kind that goes straight to Nick's heart and stays there, but he obediently stays still. 

God, Nick loves that about him. He really fucking loves that about him. He's so beautifully, naturally submissive. 

"Watch the film," he says again. 

Louis makes it about ten minutes in before he starts wriggling. He's more than half-hard, his erection tugging the lace away from his stomach, a little tent that Nick can't take his eyes off, no matter how hard he tries to pretend he's watching the film. He at least can stay still, which Louis clearly can't. 

Nick slaps gently at Louis's stomach with the flat of his hand. It's barely a tap, Nick mindful that Louis once said _no surprises_ , and that he could only be spanked on his bum. "You're wriggling," he says, as Celine and Jesse talk around love, just like they always do. He's always liked this film. Louis isn't paying attention to it at all. 

"Daddy," he whines, still wriggling. "Please."

"Hush," says Nick, kissing Louis's neck just above his collar. Louis lets out a huffy breath but stills again. Nick makes him wait a full fifteen minutes before he moves his hands up to Louis's chest from his belly. "Lou?"

"Mm?" Louis hums, already sounding breathless. His heart is pounding under Nick's hand.

"Open your legs for me, love, want to see your dick in that pretty lace."

He can just imagine Louis flushed prettily from the way his breath hitches. He opens his legs right up, bent at the knee with the outsides pressed flat to the sofa, soles of his feet almost touching like he's stretching before a footie match. Nick can see his balls peeking through the legs of his knickers, so smooth and full, and Louis's cock pushing the lace up even more. "Like this?"

"That's perfect, baby."

Louis tilts his head back against Nick's chest. His eyes are heavy lidded, and he's got his hands resting on his inner thighs, keeps rubbing them up and down like he can't help himself, too drawn to how smooth his skin is. Nick's going to play with his nipples, and then when they're pink and swollen and too sensitive, he thinks he'll set Louis up in the corner of the sofa and ask him to get himself off, so Nick can see it. They'll peel his knickers off 'til they're hanging on one of his ankles, and then when Louis's made himself come Nick will clean him up and tuck him right back into the lace just so he can make a mess of them himself.

"You gonna touch me, Daddy?"

"Impatient," Nick reprimands, sounding amused. He kisses Louis's neck again, and this time he sucks a mark into the skin just above the collar. "'m gonna play with your pretty nipples, baby, okay? Keep your hands right there on your legs."

Louis lets out a soft, ragged breath, and tips his head back. "Yes, Daddy," he says, and Nick makes sure not to pause the film the whole time he's playing with his nipples, Louis's breath a little hoarse in his throat as Nick pinches them pink. It's a full ten minutes later, when Louis is a whimpering, trembling mess, that Nick even slides his hands down to cup Louis's dick in the pretty pink lace. 

"You _are_ turned on," he says, other hand coming up to stroke at Louis's collar. His boy. His beautiful boy. "Aren't you hard, love?"

"God," Louis manages. "Please. Fuck, I'm so turned on. Nick, please."

"Do you want to come, sweetheart?" Nick asks, mouth pressed to Louis's throat, the smell of warm, expensive leather catching at his skin as he grazes over his collar. "Are you turned on enough to come for me?"

Louis's hips stutter up. "Yes," he manages. "Please, can I?"

"I want to watch you," Nick tells him, kissing his jaw. "I want to watch you play with yourself. You'll do that, won't you, little one? For Daddy?"

Louis cries out at that, and Nick stops touching his dick. 

"That's not an answer, my love."

"Please," Louis says, and it almost sounds like a sob. A beautiful, desperate sob. "I want to. I'll show you."

"You'll look so good," Nick tells him, even as he's nudging Louis to his feet and then down again, in the curve of the corner of the sofa, blankets by his feet. "No, don't get your knickers all messy, love." He helps Louis off with his knickers, until they're hanging off his ankle and Louis is naked apart from his collar, naked except for the one sign that he's Nick's. Nick is so hard. "Go on, baby. Show Daddy how you make yourself come."

Louis's a little shy at first. He pinches his nipples a bit more until he's fucking his hips up into thin air, cock leaking all over his belly, the head red and slick. He tries to keep his eyes open and on Nick but he's either too embarrassed or it feels too good, because they slide closed as he arches up and gets a hand around himself.

Nick's rock hard just from watching him. Louis's usually so loud but when he touches himself he's so sweet and quiet, little gasping breaths and the occasional swear word, or Nick's name, or a little plea or whimper. He fucks into one loose fist and grips his balls in the other, slicking his cock up with pre come. He's close already, so worked up. "Daddy," he gasps. "Daddy, talk to me, please? Please, Daddy, need to hear you."

"Fuck," Nick says, and he has to clench his fists not to reach out and touch him, not to move closer because he wants this full picture, Louis with his legs spread and his knickers hanging off his ankle, his nipples pink and pinched and his gorgeous collar round his neck. "Fuck, baby, you look so good. Is this how you do it at home, when Daddy's not there? Is this how you like to play with yourself?"

Louis whimpers and fucks into his fist faster, rolling his balls in his hand, his legs spread as wide as he can get them. "Yeah, yes, yeah," he answers, breath shuddery. "Oh, Daddy, please—I just. I think about you all the time. The things I want you to do to me. Gets me so hard all the time. Pretend it's your hands on me."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck _fuck_. "Do you? Love that, sweetheart. I love to hear that. What do you think about me doing to you?"

"T-touching me," Louis grits out. He's sweaty and so hard it looks painful, would probably come right this second if Nick told him to, is probably stopping himself because Nick hasn't. "Pinning me down. Spanking me, fucking me, coming on me, and, an' in me, telling me I'm—" He cuts himself off, blushing furiously. He's stripping his hand down his dick fast and hard now, grip tight.

"Telling you what, love?" Nick asks, breathless.

Louis hiccups. "Telling me I'm. I'm a good boy, telling me I'm your good boy."

" _God_. Fuck, baby, you can come now, come whenever you want, get yourself off good and hard for Daddy."

"Nick, please," Louis manages. "Tell me."

"Good boy," Nick says, because he can't not. "My good, good boy. Daddy's good boy."

Louis sobs as he starts to come. He comes into his hand and all over his thigh and his stomach and onto the sofa, too, but Nick doesn't care because they can fucking clean the sofa cushions, whatever. He bundles Louis into a hug, Louis trembling as Nick pulls him into his lap, his skin flushed and hot as Nick kisses his cheek, his jaw, his nose, the corner of his mouth, and strokes his fingers through the mess on Louis's tummy, circling his fingers over and over and feeling the muscles contract beneath his touch. _I love you_ , he thinks. _I'm so in love with you_. 

"You did so well," he tells Louis, fingertips tucked under Louis's collar. "You look so lovely when you come."

Louis tucks his face into the curve of Nick's neck. "I've wanked so much over you," he says, voice muffled. "I get hard just thinking about you."

"Same," Nick admits, hand sliding down into the hollow of Louis's back. "You're fucking brilliant."

"And messy," Louis says. "I'm all messy."

Nick laughs at that, and takes it as the hint Louis clearly means it to be. He sets him up in the corner of the sofa, the film still playing on the big screen, and disappears in the direction of the nearest bathroom, coming back with a stone-grey damp flannel and a matching hand towel, and he wipes up the come on Louis's tummy and thighs and hands and dick. When he's all clean and dried off, he helps him back on with his knickers, and then positions them both on the sofa, Louis lying down with Nick behind him, hand tucked into Nick's. 

"You're hard," Louis says, rubbing his bum over Nick's dick. 

"I am," Nick agrees. "And in a bit, I'm going to stretch out your knickers, love, and wank myself off all over your dick. Get you all messy and dirty, little one. Then you're going to use my come as lube so you can wank yourself off, and you're going to make such a mess of yourself, all over your knickers. How'd you fancy that, baby?"

Louis nestles further into Nick's chest, goosebumps breaking out over his skin in anticipation. "Fancy it a lot," he says, voice slow and thick.

They make it through the rest of the film. Nick keeps them both half-hard with relative ease, grinding slow into Louis's bum and sweeping his fingers over Louis's front, from his collar to his nipples to his belly to his lace-covered groin. Louis responds to it so well, the slow, constant swells of good feeling, body just accommodating. He's flush against Nick and halfway to sleep when the film ends. The end credits make it a bit too dark, but the lights come on when Nick picks up the remote and flips the TV off. He gathers Louis in closer and heaves a sigh, kissing the back of his neck, and puts his lips near Louis's ear.

"Awake, sweetheart?" 

"Mmm," Louis says, drawing it out long. He rubs his bum pointedly back into Nick's crotch. Nick's fully hard now, just the anticipation of what's to come working him up. "Are you gonna come on me now Daddy? Get me messy?"

Nick kisses his cheek. "Get you so messy, sweetheart."

"Good," Louis says, in satisfaction. He kisses Nick's jaw, his cheek, his mouth. It makes Nick's heart feel like it's expanding in his chest. 

"Come on," Nick says, "let's go to bed."

"My favourite place," Louis says, hopping to his feet and wrapping his arms around Nick's waist. They have to shuffle-hop their way to the stairs, Louis clinging to him like an overenthusiastic koala, poking him in the side with his fingers so that Nick has to try and wriggle out of his grip. 

"You're terrible," Nick says, finally managing to wrangle Louis in front of him, and grabbing his wrists. The collar is a thick band of black around his neck, and Nick's never played games with collars before. This isn't a game, though. It isn't even close. He's never been so serious about anyone before. He pins Louis's hands behind him, his hand encircling Louis's wrists, and pushes him towards the stairs. He kisses the back of Louis's neck as they turn the corner, and Louis lets out a ragged breath, stumbling a little. He's quiet now, still even though they're moving, the playfulness of two minutes ago having slid into something a little different, quieter, more submissive. Louis is so, so beautiful like this, so naturally submissive, and it takes Nick's breath away just to think about it. He steers them in the direction of the nearest bedroom, because he can't be bothered to walk up another two flights of stairs to get to their penthouse suite. 

He doesn't close the door after them when he gets inside, getting the light with his elbow as he nudges Louis towards the bed. 

Louis is quiet when he lies down, holding his hands in front of him, wrists together even though Nick's not holding him there anymore. His eyes are dark, his pretty knickers all tented out around his erection. Nick loses his pyjama bottoms, and crawls over him, his dick already in hand. He pulls the knickers out a little, so that Louis's dick bobs free, and Nick is suddenly a lot closer to coming than he'd thought he was. He wanks himself off quickly, bumping the tip of his dick into Louis's, dragging it, slick and rough, over the lace. 

"You look so good like that," Nick tells him. "Holding your wrists together like that. Keeping so still. You're such a good boy, Lou. You've taken to this so well. You're such a quick learner. You're so good."

Louis is flushed pink, chewing on his lip. "Want to be good for you," he says. "I'm going to try so hard. Going to be your best, best boy."

_You already are_ , Nick thinks, wanking himself off. He's close. 

"You're going to make such a mess of me," Louis goes on, and Nick can tell that he's desperately trying to keep still for him, muscles tense, abs flexed. "Please, Daddy. Make me messy."

Nick's hips stutter up at that, so close to the edge. "Louis," he manages, breathless and wrecked. "You're _mine_." He comes with a cry, come striping Louis's dick. He milks himself dry, pulling out the knickers so that he can come all over the inside, all over Louis, all over his smooth, smooth skin. He sits back on his heels and lets the knicker elastic snap back against Louis's erection. 

Louis whimpers, and Nick rubs the palm of his hand over the outline of Louis's erection through the lace. 

"You're such a mess," he says. "Covered in my come. Does that get you hard, sweetheart? Knowing how dirty you are?" He doesn't stop touching Louis's dick, the underwear wet and messy with his come. "Do you want to use my come to play with yourself? Wank yourself off, little one? I can see how excited you are."

Louis is wretched, desperate mess, trembling and breathless. "Daddy." He's almost sobbing. "Please."

"Please, what?" Nick asks, still touching him. 

"I want to make a mess of myself," Louis says. "Please, Daddy. Can I?"

He's really just the best thing that's ever happened to Nick, is the thing. Nick palms over Louis's dick a few more times, taking a moment to kiss him thoroughly before pulling back, moving his hand to Louis's thigh, instead, because he can't stand to not be touching him. "Yeah, baby, you can. Show Daddy how messy you can get for him."

Louis shudders out a little sob, wrecked and pretty, and rubs his hands down his chest and tummy before tucking one into the front of his knickers. It stretches the lace out even more obscenely, and some of Nick's come is showing through the leg of them, slick and wet on Louis's thigh. Louis lets out a rough, pained sound when he touches himself. "Daddy," he gasps, arching his back, moving his hand in quick, short jerks so his dick stays in encased in lace. "Daddy, you got me so wet."

Nick kisses Louis's thigh, sucking a purple mark there, feeling the muscle quiver under his lips. "'Course I did, little one, got you good and slick. Feels nice, doesn't it? Daddy's come all over you so you can play with yourself?"

" _Daddy_ ," Louis sobs, "I want, I need—" He can't get the friction he needs, and he gives a frustrated sound and pulls his hand out. Nick sits up, about to order him back to work, but Louis clambers into his lap and shoves him down until he's lying on his back and Louis's sat astride one of his thighs. He clenches one hand in the sheets and puts the other on Nick's chest and rubs himself against Nick's leg wildly, mouth open and eyes so dark. He's so turned on he's shaking. Nick's going to have to spank him, later, of course, for not listening, but right now he can feel his own dick twitching again, fattening up between his legs at the sight of Louis so desperate, riding Nick's thigh. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy," Louis chants. The lace is just soaked through, leaving Nick's thigh damp.

"You gonna come, baby?" Nick asks him, his voice hoarse and an octave deeper than normal. He gets up onto one of his elbows and cups Louis's bum, squeezing, helping him hump down into Nick's thigh. His dick is so hard, all caught up in the lace, and Nick can feel his smooth balls dragging along his leg with every needy thrust. "So beautiful, Lou, gonna get your pretty knickers so messy for Daddy, aren't you?"

Louis comes with a bitten off cry, tears at the corners of his eyes, his whole body going tight and still before he spills so hot and so much into his knickers, turning the soft pink dark. Nick gets his hand there immediately, feels Louis's cock twitching as he spurts. He squeezes and Louis sobs, shoving into Nick's hand as Nick wrings him all out.

"You're so good," Nick tells him, still touching him. "You're such a good boy for Daddy."

Louis sobs then, shaking apart as Nick softens his touch, until he's just grazing at Louis's dick with the crook of his finger. "Nick—"

"Shhh," Nick says, tugging him into a hug. Louis hides his face in the curve of Nick's shoulder, breaths coming harsh and ragged against Nick's skin, his chest heaving. Louis's dick and messy knickers are damp and a little sticky against his tummy; it must be worse for Louis. He slides his hands down over Louis's bum, squeezing. "So pretty for me, my love. Such a pretty boy in your pretty, messy underwear."

"Daddy," Louis whimpers. He wraps his arms around Nick's neck, mouth pressed to Nick's cheek. "My daddy."

Nick's heart feels like it's too big for his chest. He doesn't know what to do with this boy in his lap; he wants to keep him safe forever, especially when he feels the ridges of his scar tissue beneath his fingertips. The man in the shop earlier; Louis's reaction. He doesn't know enough to ensure he can make sure Louis is never as scared as he was earlier, checking all the doors were locked and the chalet was empty, and trying to be secret about it. He sits back a little, enough that he can tilt Louis's chin up and slide his fingers into Louis's hair. Louis is flushed and hot and his cheeks are pink. 

Louis stretches a little, just enough that his collar is displayed to full advantage. 

"How's it feel?" Nick asks, indicating the collar. "It's not too tight, is it?"

"No." Louis shakes his head. He juts his chin out. "I can feel it every time I breathe or swallow. Reminds me I'm yours."

Nick twitches at that. "You are mine," he says, which is as close as he's come to saying _I love you_ for a second time. He tucks Louis's hair behind his ear, not that it stays there. "You're all mine, love."

"I know," Louis says. "That's what's so good about it. Knowing that. Every time I breathe."

It's like his heart is going to beat right out of his chest. Louis's eyes are so bright. Nick closes the distance between them and meets Louis's mouth in a kiss; he tries to pour out everything he's feeling. 

Louis kisses him back, just as sweetly, just as desperate. "Daddy," he says, all in a rush. "I want to wake up with you inside me tomorrow."

"Louis—"

"Wake me up fucking me," Louis says. 

Nick lets out a breath. "You're so tight, baby," he says. "You've had nothing inside of you all day. I don't want to hurt you."

"You don't want to," Louis is wearing that fierce expression again, the one that says he's trying to hide how he's feeling. 

"Of course I want to," Nick says, kissing the corner of his mouth. The very idea of getting to slide his way inside of Louis and gently fuck him awake, and Louis _wanting it,_ well. It's so fucking hot, is the thing. "But I'm not hurting you."

"But I want you to," Louis says, stubbornly. 

"I could finger you awake instead," Nick suggests. "I'd get you so wet, love. So slick. So much lube."

Louis gives him a very long, considering look, and then sniffs haughtily and shrugs. "Yeah, all right then."

"You little brat," says Nick, and tickles him until Louis is writhing and laughing and scrambling off the bed to get away. He's a mess and a menace and a brat and so lovely and Nick loves him.

"Only for you, Daddy," Louis drawls. He makes a face and pushes at his knickers a bit, and then shoves them down his legs and steps out of them. "We should go for a swim."

Nick blinks. He's quite tired, thanks, and where his post-orgasm cuddle? They still need to eat dinner, too, Louis's still looking so thin. "Right now?"

"Right now," says Louis, putting his hands on his hips. "It'll be refreshing. We'll skinny dip."

It's hard to pass up. It actually sounds quite nice. There's a fantastic sound system down there so they can set up music and have a float. Nick hasn't been to the gym since he arrived, after all, and a few laps might be good for him, and after a day of snowboarding it'll be another good stretch. Plus, the sight of Louis naked and wet isn't something he's going to argue with.

"All right, yeah, we can do that."

Louis crawls back onto the bed and kisses Nick thoroughly. "You're the best, have I told you? This is just. I wish I could say thank you better."

Nick cups his cheek and kisses him again. "You're here with me, Lou. That's all the thanks I need."

"That was really cheesy," Louis says, but he's pink enough to suggest he didn't mind it one bit. "Come on, let's go and swim for a bit."

_Swim_ is perhaps an overestimation, given that when they get downstairs to the pool, Louis spends an inordinately long time picking what to put on the sound system, whilst Nick at least makes the pretence of swimming a couple of laps. Thing is, Louis is naked and bending over by the stereo system, picking something from the chalet's ridiculously large digital music collection. He's so lovely, is the thing, and after three laps, Nick floats instead, lazily sculling in circles and watching Louis industrially study the little screen. 

"Surely there's something we can listen to," Nick says, finally. 

"Shut up, love," Louis says, without turning around. He flaps a hand in Nick's general direction. "Genius at work here."

"Louis," Nick whines, and he's shocked at how needy he sounds. It's been ten minutes without Louis plastered to his side and he's getting withdrawal symptoms. "Louis, Louis, Louis."

"One more word out of you, mister, and I'll have to re-think letting you give me another orgasm," Louis says, a little sanctimoniously. He turns around, hands on his hips. "Are you ready? Because I think this playlist is going to blow you out of the water."

"It's going to rock my world, I'm sure," Nick agrees. 

"It definitely is," Louis says, and he presses play. _Let's Get Ready To Rhumble_ blares out of the speakers at top volume. Louis bursts out laughing, and Nick snorts as Louis starts to sing along, even as he's launching himself into the water, cannonball style. Louis emerges from under the water, rapping along. "Straight up proving, we can get you moving," he raps, not actually all that badly, grabbing Nick's hand and tugging him into a clumsy dance hold, the two of them treading water. "This track's grooving, it ain't no hype."

"You are so awful I don't know what to do with myself," Nick tells him, impressed. 

"Watch us wreck the mic, _psyche_ ," Louis goes on, and clearly the only way Nick is going to get him to shut up is if he actually makes him shut up, so he kisses him instead, cutting him off mid-word. 

They kiss all the way through the rest of the song, only breaking apart for Louis to sing, _partners in crime, we'll never do time, a sentence for us has to end in a rhyme_ —and then Nick dunks him for good measure. 

It's all out war after that, Nick having to scramble away as Louis splashes him, trying to grab his ankle. By the time _Mahna Mahna_ comes on, Nick is already breathless and hiding behind a blow-up beach ball as Louis tries to hit him with a shark. _Mahna Mahna_ is followed by _One Jump_ from _Aladdin_ , and the Macarena, then _Beauty and the Beast_. 

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that a chalet in Switzerland had Ant and Dec," Nick says, when he's finally run out of steam chasing Louis around the pool and trying to get him with the giant Nerf guns. 

"They didn't," Louis says, sanctimoniously. He dumps the water gun on the side of the pool and swims over to Nick, wrapping his legs around Nick's waist. "You can download stuff and they charge it to your account. I thought you wouldn't mind. I'll pay you back, anyway."

"Oh, you're a menace," Nick says, in admiration. He holds Louis up by cupping his arse, and Louis wraps his arms around Nick, water sluicing off him as Nick hefts him up, trying to get to a level in the pool where he can put his feet down and stop treading water. 

"I'm Beauty and you're the Beast," Louis says, kissing the corner of Nick's mouth. "Just thought you should know."

"Tell you a secret?" Nick says, and Louis looks very solemn and intrigued.

"If you want, yeah," he says. Nick pinches his bum and Louis smacks him lightly in the shoulder, grinning. "Go on, then."

"I unironically love this song."

Louis laughs out loud, so cute Nick could just die. "Nick!"

"Especially in the film, when Angela Lansbury sings it. I love it. I cried at it once."

Louis's looking at him, and he's smiling but his expression is so, so soft, and so fond, and so intense, like Nick is the only thing in the universe. Nick feels so humbled by it, and Louis pushes Nick's wet hair back off his forehead, tenderly. "You're my very favourite."

"Obviously," says Nick, grinning and blushing like a bloody schoolgirl. "You're mine too."

Louis nods. "I know."

Nick kisses him, finally back in the shallow end so his feet touch the bottom. Louis stays wrapped around him and Nick presses him up against the edge and squeezes his bum, water lapping at the side of the pool and the music still blaring. He licks into Louis's mouth and gets as close as possible, his whole body tingling. It's only their second day here but the end of the week already feels so close, and Louis will be going away to see his mum and Nick will have to go back to work. They're going to lose the magic of this place.

Louis is holding on to him so tightly that Nick's sure that he feels the same; he keeps on kissing him even as the sound system moves on to a song Nick doesn't know. It's some guy with a dance beat and Louis looks terribly innocent—if well kissed—until the chorus kicks in with _but tonight I'm fucking you_. "One for you, I thought," Louis says. 

"Who the fuck is this?" Nick asks, rolling his eyes even as Louis tries his best to look innocent. It's hard when he's in Nick's arms, held up against the side of the pool, his dick pressing up against Nick's stomach. 

"Enrique Iglesias," Louis says. 

"You are a constant enigma," Nick says. 

"Featuring Ludacris," Louis goes on, tip-toeing his fingers up Nick's spine. Nick shivers. "So. You inspired yet?"

"I can't think of what you might be alluding to," Nick says, but he strokes a finger down into the crease of Louis's arse, ghosting it over Louis's hole. Louis shivers, breath catching, and tightens his grip on Nick's shoulders. 

"Please," Louis asks, tilting his face down to Nick's, taller for the first time, Nick holding him up. "Please, Daddy. Fuck me."

"We haven't eaten," Nick says. "I was going to cook for you."

"Eat me out instead," Louis persists. "Eating's for idiots."

Nick laughs at that. He sucks a bruise into Louis's throat, a _here I am, and here's where I'm staying_. "Let me cook for you, love. Let me wine and dine you and carry you to bed afterwards."

Louis hisses in a breath as Nick continues to mouth at his throat. He tastes a little chlorine-y, and underneath that, warm and familiar and _Nick's_. Nick pretends he can taste the memory of the leather of Louis's collar, licking at his skin. "I suppose," he says. 

"And afterwards," Nick says, nipping at his skin. "Afterwards, when I've carried you to bed, little one, I'll eat you out until you're begging for it, begging to be fucked, and I'll get you so wet and slick and ready, and I'll slide on in, baby. I'll be inside you." 

"No condom."

"No condom," Nick agrees. "And you'll feel so hot and tight and wet around me, you have no idea. You have no idea what you do to me."

"I do," Louis says, ducking in to kiss him again. "Because you do it back to me. That's how I feel too."

They stand there in the water for a long time, kissing gently, holding each other, until their skin starts to prune up. When they get out of the water, they rinse themselves clean in the showers off to the side of the pool, then dry each other off with fluffy towels. Louis wants his collar back on right away, so Nick clasps it carefully closed and kisses his neck and shoulders, and they both put dressing gowns from the spa rooms on and walk hand in hand upstairs.

"What are you going to make, then?" Louis asks, sat at one of the barstools and sipping at a frozen daiquiri he made himself in the big industrial blender behind the bar. Nick's pulling pans from the lower cupboards and ingredients out from the fridge. His hair is drying in curls, as it always does when he doesn't blow dry it. That's how Louis prefers it, though, he's told him so already. Nick tries not to think too much about what he looks like. 

"Pan-seared scallops with asparagus and baby leeks," says Nick.

"Hmm," says Louis. "Trying a bit too hard, aren't you?"

Nick throws a grape at him and Louis lights up happily when he catches it, and pops it in his mouth at once. Nick doesn't even know what to do with him.

He sings while he cooks, tuneless, and Louis joins in occasionally while he sets a table for two. lighting the candles and retrieving the fanciest plates from the cupboard. "What would you like to drink?" Louis asks. "Wine again?"

"With dinner, yes," says Nick. "Red, please."

" _With dinner_ ," Louis repeats. "What's for after dinner then?"

"I requested a bottle of excellent scotch when I reserved the chalet." He's been craving it since he saw the bottle when they arrived, and tonight is a good night for it.

"Revolting," says Louis. "How drunk are we getting tonight? Like, medium? Or like, embarrassing story-telling drunk?"

Nick grins. "However we end up, love."

Louis taps his lips thoughtfully. "I'll bring out two bottles, just in case."

Dinner looks fantastic, if Nick does say so himself. Louis looks down at his plate with great trepidation for so long that Nick lifts an eyebrow. "Something wrong, love?"

"I'm just saying," says Louis. "A nice shepherd's pie would've been fine. Great, even."

"I don't think I know how to make shepherd's pie." Nick watches as Louis pushes his food round tentatively with his fork. 

"It's easy," Louis says. "You find a shepherd and you bung him in a Pyrex. You could have done egg and chips, though. Everyone knows how to make egg and chips."

Nick rolls his eyes. "Try it before deciding you don't like it. I'll do you something else if you hate it."

"I don't hate it," Louis says, although he's not exactly looking enthusiastic about trying it. "What are they?"

"They're scallops," Nick says. 

Louis looks the tiniest bit pink. "And, um, what are they?"

"Seafood," Nick says, and Louis nods. 

"I like fish fingers. And fish from the chip shop. Except I normally get a battered sausage."

It is a little bit like leading a very tentative pony to water. "You could try them," Nick says. "Or the asparagus."

"Does asparagus make your wee go green?" Louis asks, gingerly stabbing a spear with his fork. He holds it up in the air but doesn't eat it. 

"It might do," Nick says. "I've never checked." He sighs. "I'll make you something else. Pour another glass of wine whilst I get rid of this." He's very good at pretending, he does it all the time at work, so he doesn't let his disappointment show. He'd wanted this to be really nice, but he'd sort of forgotten that Louis's world and his don't align all that often, and definitely not when it comes to shopping lists. 

"No," Louis says, fiercely. "Sit back down. You made me my tea and I'm eating it. Shut up."

Nick rolls his eyes and sits back down. He eats a scallop. It's really nice. Across the other side of the table, Louis takes a rather large swig of very expensive wine, and hurriedly takes a tiny bite of a scallop. The expression on his face suggests that he's waiting for something terrible to happen. 

"It's all right, that," Louis says finally. "I thought it was going to be awful."

"Told you," Nick says lightly, and deliberately doesn't watch Louis try the asparagus. 

He doesn't like the asparagus, not that he tells Nick that, but he likes the leek and the scallops. He eats all of that, and pours them both another glass of wine, and then comes to sit in Nick's lap. "What's for afters?"

"Peppermint chocolate pots," Nick says, sliding his arm around Louis's waist. "Or I could leave out the peppermint." He drops a kiss to Louis's bicep. "Or coffee chocolate pots. The recipe's flexible."

"I like peppermint," says Louis, and he kisses Nick sweetly on the lips. "Thank you for dinner, Nick."

Nick smiles like he can't help it and gets his hand under the thick robe Louis's wearing to pat his bum fondly. "You're welcome, kitten." Louis blushes pink and Nick kisses him again, and again, and then one more time for good measure.

Dessert is easier to prepare and Louis keeps himself occupied by clearing the table and drinking wine. Nick has a glass of his expensive scotch when they sit down to eat and Louis doesn't even bother with his own chair, making himself comfortable on Nick's lap. Louis's sat facing him, so they feed each other somewhat awkwardly and it gets a bit messy. Louis gets chocolate on his nose and his lips, which Nick licks off, and Nick gets some on his fingers.

"Give them here," Louis says, leaning backward to set their empty dishes on the table. Nick lifts his hand and Louis takes him by the wrist and guides Nick's chocolatey fingers into his open mouth. He looks coy and innocent, fluttering his eyelashes, sighing like having his mouth full feels exquisite. Nick watches with growing arousal, pressing down against Louis's tongue. He slides his other hand under Louis's dressing gown again to touch skin, his bum and his hip, around to his half-hard dick and then back around to the crease of his arse. 

"Here, darling," he murmurs, and Louis sucks three of Nick's fingers into his mouth. With his other hand, he strokes over Louis's arse, circling his little hole. Louis moans, pushing back into it.

"Daddy," he says, voice muffled by Nick's fingers.

"Are you ready to go upstairs, little one?" Nick asks him, fucking into Louis's mouth with his fingers, slipping the very tip of one of his fingers inside him. Louis makes a hot, pleased sound and grips Nick's wrist harder. "Ready for Daddy to lick you out?"

Louis nods, licking at Nick's fingers. He wriggles in Nick's lap, clearly trying to take more of Nick's finger inside of him, but Nick is very much in control of this, and he refuses to give more, even though Louis is begging for it. He rubs the pad of his finger over Louis's hole. 

"You'll need to use your words, love," Nick says, although he's aware that removing his fingers from Louis's mouth would probably help with that. He leaves them where they are, and Louis has to duck back. His lips are spit-wet. "I'm ready," he says, cheeks flushed. "Carry me, Daddy."

There is literally no way on earth that Nick can carry Louis all the way to the top of the chalet, so he doesn't. He carries him as far as the first floor, to the bedroom they'd used earlier in the day, Louis's legs wrapped around Nick's waist, Louis kissing him the whole way up. He's clutching the whisky in one hand, and Nick's half-convinced that it's going to end up smashed on the floor, but luck's in their favour, and Louis is still holding on to it even as Nick deposits him on the bed. 

Nick crawls over him, untying his dressing gown as he does, dropping it over the side of the bed. He unknots Louis's, even as he's leaning down to kiss him, and Louis is arching up to meet him, artlessly enthusiastic, and everything Nick could ever want. He threads his fingers into Louis's hair, one hand pressed to his collar, and he kisses him until Louis is breathless and whimpering beneath him, legs hooked around Nick's waist, erection pressed up between them. 

"How do you want it?" Nick asks, as Louis wraps his small hands around Nick's bicep. "On your hands and knees or on your back?"

"Hands and knees," Louis says, after a moment's consideration. "Then you can play with my dick at the same time."

"Greedy," Nick says, but he doesn't force it. "Up you get, sweetheart."

He gets Louis positioned where he wants him, and then crawls behind him, hands to Louis's bum. He pulls his cheeks apart a bit, so that Louis is on display for him, open and wanton and his. 

"Daddy," Louis says. "Please. Do it now. I want it."

"You always want it," Nick tells him, leaning in to blow an exhale of breath over Louis's hole so that he shivers. "That's part of what makes you my good boy."

"Want your mouth," Louis demands, pushing his bum back. "Please, Daddy."

"Someone's pushy," Nick says, and he gives Louis's bum a gentle slap. "Shush now, little one. Daddy's got you." He leans in and licks over Louis's hole, Louis's needy whimper loud and a little ragged. He licks him until he's wet through and desperate, begging Nick to put his tongue inside, to fuck him open, and Nick holds out as long as he can before pressing his tongue inside. He fucks his tongue in, Louis's breathless pants causing Nick to get even harder than he already is, and then just as Louis is trembling and loud and pushing back against him, Nick slides his hand between Louis's legs and wraps his fingers around Louis's dick. 

" _Daddy_ ," Louis whines, trying to simultaneously push back and fuck down all at the same time. "Daddy, please. Daddy."

Nick's stashed lube in nearly every single room in the chalet, and Louis is dripping wet and begging and nearly in tears by the time Nick pulls his mouth away. Louis's face is buried in the duvet and he's rocking into Nick's hand, moaning, the head of his dick wet and red peeking through Nick's grip. 

"Just one second, baby," Nick tells him. He kisses Louis's bum and gets up, dick jerking at the unhappy wail Louis gives when Nick stops touching him. He left lube in the bathroom, and he grabs it quickly and hurries back to the bed, where Louis is still lying with his arse in the air, hole wet, dick thick between his thighs. Nick kneels behind him and slicks his fingers up. "Gonna open you up, love."

"Daddy, Daddy, _please_ ," Louis gasps, writhing. Nick kisses the back of his thigh and licks into him again, just once, before pressing two fingers in steady and deep.

Louis goes mad for it, shoving back onto them, so turned on he's wild with it. He spreads his knees as much as he can and he chants Nick's name. Nick tucks his fingers in deep and slow, stretching him out, curling them to rub over Louis's prostate just as he gets his hand around Louis's dick again.

"Fuck me," Louis pleads, voice tight and high. "Please, Daddy, please fuck me. Fuck me _hard_ Daddy, please, put it in me, wanna feel it tomorrow, please, please, Daddy?"

"God, yes," Nick breathes, pulling his fingers out and pouring more lube into his hand. He slicks himself up slowly, savouring the feel of it, the sight of Louis trembling and his hole so wet and open for him. When he lines himself up, Louis lets out a sob and reaches back to hold himself open. It wrenches a guttural moan from Nick's throat and he presses in, fast and hard, just like Louis asked.

It's the roughest fuck they've had yet, but Louis _loves_ it, shoving back into Nick with every thrust, swearing into the duvet, begging Nick for more. Nick's balls slap against Louis's arse and Louis's dick is swinging in time with each thrust. He obviously wants to touch himself, has his hand on his belly but Nick won't let him. Louis's going to come on Nick's cock.

"Nick, Nick, Daddy, _God._ "

"Good boy, Louis. Such a good boy, taking it so good. You make Daddy so hard, make me so hard inside you. Gonna fill you up so full, baby."

"Feels," Louis mewls, the angle changing so Nick's nailing him just right, his grip bruising on Louis's hips. "Feels so good, Daddy, fucking me so hard. Need to come, need to come."

"I want you to," Nick tells him, fucking into him harder than he's ever dared before. "Come on, little one, my good boy. Come on my cock."

Louis cries out at that, but he doesn't come. His arms must be shaking, holding himself up against Nick's thrusts for so long, but he doesn't show it. He just tries to push back against Nick's dick, but Nick is relentless. He's sweaty and breathless and desperate. 

"Want to come," Louis begs him. "Daddy, fuck, please. Tell me I can." His skin is slick with sweat, muscles trembling, the line of his back tense with need. 

Nick's fingers tighten on Louis's hips. Christ. "You can come," he manages, still fucking up into him. "Fuck, you're so tight. Come on my cock, Lou. Come without touching yourself."

"Daddy, Daddy, _Daddy_ ," Louis chants, voice ragged. "I'm going to—" he clenches around Nick's dick, so it feels even tighter, and even better, and a part of Nick just wants to die with how much he wants this, with how much he needs this, with how much he loves him. When Louis starts to come it's incredible, because he clenches and clenches around Nick's dick, and it's so hot, and so tight, and Nick just keeps on fucking him, even as he's coming all over the sheets, still holding himself up and not sinking down on the pillows. 

"You're so hot," Nick tells him. "You're such a good boy, Louis. You're my good boy. God, in your collar—" He's losing it. He's so close to coming, but he can't get over it, his boyfriend in his collar. It's a statement of intent so much stronger than an _I love you_. He doesn't know if Louis knows that, but right now he doesn't care. It's so hot. He fucks his hips up, dick so deep inside of him. "Going to come, baby. Going to come inside of you." He pounds into him, hard and fast and rough, and when he starts to come the force of his orgasm almost takes him by surprise. He knows he's left finger shaped marks on Louis's hips. It takes forever for him to stop trembling; he's out of breath and sweating and dick deep inside of Louis; he's sticky and sweaty and beyond conversation. He pulls out and drops down onto the sheets next to him, not even making it as far up the bed as the pillows. He covers his face with his arm and tries to concentrate on breathing in and out. 

Louis shifts next to him, crawling down the bed until he can nestle into Nick's side, nose to Nick's ribs. "Don't forget you're going to fuck me awake in the morning." He hooks his leg over Nick's, and kisses his side, and doesn't let go. 

"You sure?" Nick asks. 

"Very, very sure," Louis says, and kisses him. 

Eventually, after a very long time spent kissing, Louis goes to the bathroom and comes back with a wet flannel to clean them up, and they crawl under the blankets together. It's well after midnight and the wind is loud outside. Louis nestles into Nick's side, yawning. "G'night," he murmurs, voice still thick and hoarse.

Nick rubs his shoulder. "Here, love, up just a second so I can turn the light off."

Louis blinks and shifts very reluctantly, "Oh. Yeah, right." 

Nick kisses him apologetically and rolls over to get the lamp turned off. The snow on the mountains reflects blue light into the room, but Nick's eyes don't adjust very fast. He drops back down on the bed, and pulls Louis into his arms. Louis's breathing is deep and even, warm on Nick's neck, and their legs tangle together. 

"G'night, love," Nick murmurs, and he's practically asleep before he even finishes talking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick looks at him, at his boyfriend with his hair all sticking up and shadows like bruises under his eyes. "I'd rather just be here with you," he says finally, because all of a sudden he can't think of anything witty to say that isn't _I love you_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This continues to be self-indulgent. Thank you to **Ashley** for the beta, and to **pillarboxred** for their comments and support. Thank you also to **justyrae** for reading this through for me :)
> 
> Today in Sainsburys I found a packet of the best mini sausages in blankets in the world and they were REDUCED so someone out there loves me. To celebrate, let's take a moment to look at [this picture of a highland cow wearing a tartan scarf](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/64/56/2a/64562acddc1e1a27ca98347eab5d8910.jpg). You can thank me later.

~*~

Nick gets a pretty good night's rest. He hears Louis get up a few times, and Nick tosses and turns a bit, restless, but for the most part he sleeps through. He wakes up at the same time his alarm usually goes off because his brain's well trained and he's been waking up at the same time for years. 

It's still dark outside, and Louis is asleep next to him, snoring very softly. He's on his belly with his legs spread, skin goose-bumping when Nick slips the duvet down. Nick's morning wood is pretty interested in proceedings, all things considered, and Louis must be properly asleep because he doesn't wake up even when Nick accidentally knocks the lube to the floor and has to retrieve it.

Louis asked Nick to fuck him awake. 

Nick slicks his fingers quickly and gently touches them to Louis's hole. He's still open from a few hours ago, taking Nick's finger right in and all he does is snuffle quietly, still asleep. Nick's turned on already, skin flushing pink. Louis had said he'd wanted this for ages. Nick slicks up his cock and very, very carefully, with a gentle hand to Louis's hip, coaxes him onto his side.

Louis settles back against his chest easily with a little sigh, and Nick palms Louis's inner thigh and lifts his leg up a bit, holding him open. Louis grunts, and Nick doesn't have long before he'll wake up, so he lines his cock up and presses in with one long, soft, gentle roll of his hips.

He moves, ever so gently, ever so slowly, one hand to Louis's waist, rolling his hips up. Louis murmurs something in his sleep, and Nick presses his mouth to Louis's shoulder as he slides a hand around to cup Louis's dick in his palm. He kisses Louis's shoulder again, shifting a little to kiss the back of Louis's neck. 

Louis whines a little, stretching out. He stills, mid-stretch, and opens his eyes, groggy and half asleep. "Nick," he breathes. "Nick, god."

"Morning, sweetheart," Nick says, kissing Louis's neck again. "Is this what you wanted?"

Louis makes a tiny, high-pitched noise in the back of his throat, and reaches behind him to cup the back of Nick's head, pulling him near. "You're inside of me," he says, and he still sounds half-asleep, but there's a bright need underpinning his early-morning rasp. "You just slid on in whilst I was asleep."

"I did, love," Nick is very still inside of him. He's never done this before and maybe it's too late now, but he needs some extra reassurance that Louis still wants what he asked for last night. 

"I've wanked over this," Louis says. "Tried to finger myself open whilst I was still half-asleep. It's never been—" he stumbles over his words, still half asleep. His eyes flutter closed again, and he hums a breath. "Fuck me," he says. "Fuck me awake." 

"Darling," Nick says, and he wraps his hand around Louis's dick. "Aren't you lovely, huh? My lovely boy." He moves slowly and gently, fucking into him so softly he's barely fucking him at all. It's that hazy half-space between sleeping and waking, and Louis is deliberately not reacting, clearly wanting to be more asleep than awake for this. He threads his fingers into Nick's, and that's as much as he gets. Nick rubs his thumb over the tip of Louis's dick, and Louis whines again, rocking his hips just a little. "My good, good boy," Nick tells him, kissing his shoulder again. _I love you_ , he thinks. _I love you so much_.

It's the longest fuck they've ever had, such a slow burn, the pace lazy and sleepy and so fucking good. Louis breathes hard into his pillow and Nick kisses his shoulder, then the back of his neck. Neither of them have their eyes open. Louis is so tight and warm and comfortable and _his_ , and his collar is so lovely around his neck, and his dick is hard and slick in Nick's hand. It lasts for ages and ages, because Nick slows it down when he gets close, and when Louis gets near too, he stays buried in deep with Louis mewling sleepily and clenching around him.

"Daddy," he murmurs, blearily opening his eyes. He turns his head and Nick catches his mouth in a slow, wet kiss. It feels so good. Louis feels _so fucking good_. "Love waking up like this. Love waking up to you fucking me."

"Such a sweet boy," Nick tells him, lifting Louis's leg a little bit higher to fuck into him properly, deeper, get the angle just right. "My good boy, always nice and open for Daddy."

"Want you to," Louis gasps and blushes, covering his face with one hand and rolling his hips back into Nick's. "Maybe you could. For a whole day sometime, maybe you could just. Just use me? Like whenever you want. Tell me what to do and just bend me over whenever you want. You could dress me up however you wanted, or I wouldn't have to wear anything. I'd only do what you told me to, Daddy."

Jesus. Nick moans into Louis's neck, licking over the top of the collar. "You'd like that, baby? Being there for Daddy to use whenever he wants? Keep my cock warm for me with your arse, or your mouth?"

"God," Louis sobs.

"Come inside you over and over, plug you up and then lick it out later? You'd be such a good boy for Daddy, wouldn't you, do everything you were told. Sit at Daddy's feet, in Daddy's collar. You'd let Daddy put you in a cock ring, hmm? Or a lovely cage, keep you soft even though you're so turned on."

"What's a cage?" Louis asks, tipping his head back enough that Nick can mouth at his throat. "God, I want that, Daddy. To sit at your feet."

"I bought you one," Nick says, kissing underneath his ear. "It's a little metal cage for your dick. We lock it closed so you can't get hard. There's a little padlock."

"Who has the keys?" Louis asks, pressing back oh so slowly onto Nick's dick. They're barely moving at all, and they're hot and sweaty and Nick never wants this to end. 

"I'll have one and you'll have one," Nick says, and he realises that this is a question he should have answered earlier, because Louis is worried, he can see it in the tense line of his shoulders. He angles himself so that he can kiss Louis's mouth, his dick sliding out of him until it's just the tip left inside. "I promise I'll never lock you in anything you won't be able to get yourself out of if you want to," he says. "And I'll never, ever do it unless you tell me it's okay." He kisses him again even as Louis's nodding against his mouth. "These things—everything I've brought with me. You can say no to any part of it. They're just ideas. It's your decision. It'll always be your decision. About the cage, about everything."

"I wasn't—it's not a thing," he says haltingly. 

"It's a thing for me," Nick says, and it's only partially an exaggeration, because it's extra true where Louis is concerned, and that's what's important. "I need you to be able to get out of anything, at any time, if you need to. It's a thing."

Louis's breath hitches then, almost a sob, and Nick covers his mouth with his in another kiss. "I want that, then. I want you to tell me when I can come. When we're doing that, I want you to be in charge of everything."

Nick's hand tightens on Louis's dick. "I will be," he says, and he slides on inside him again, one long exhale of breath as Louis's tight around him. "I'd tell you what you can wear and when you'd need to be naked. When you'd sit on the floor and when you'd kneel at my feet. I'll use you and use you, baby. Keep your mouth or your bum full all day long. You'd be covered in my come, little one. And you can wear your collar and your cage and you'll be mine, Louis. You'll be mine, and I'll make you so pretty. You'll be so, so pretty. You should see some of the things I've bought for you to wear, lovely. They're so pretty."

Louis sobs for real then, trembling. "I want to come," he begs. One tear after another starts to slide down his cheek. 

"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

"No," Louis says, and he rocks up into Nick's fist. "Fuck me, Daddy. Fuck me and make me yours."

Nick dicks into him over and over for as long as he possibly can, even after Louis has come with a hitched breath and a little whine, tears on his face, cock pulsing in Nick's hand. Nick fucks into him again and again and when he comes it's in slow, powerful waves that leave him dazed and breathless. He loves the way it feels, bare inside Louis, his own come spilling around his dick.

When he pulls out Louis gives a little groan and rolls onto his back, pulling his knees up and opening his legs. He gets two fingers between them immediately and presses them inside himself, the wet sound of Nick's come pushing back into him so hot Nick feels another pulse of orgasm wash over him.

"God, that was hot," Louis says. "Jesus, so fucking hot, fucked me so long, gonna be sore."

He's getting himself hard again, so fast, and Nick can't even speak from how turned on he is. Louis rolls his hips up onto his fingers. "You got me so wet inside, Daddy, love the way it feels."

"Jesus, Lou," Nick murmurs, rolling onto his side so he can see better. He strokes Louis's hair back off his face. "You're just my filthy, filthy boy aren't you?"

Louis smiles and blinks up at Nick with big eyes, still fingering himself slowly and thoroughly. "Your filthy boy, Daddy." He twists his hand and makes a frustrated noise. "Wish I had my vibrator."

"Or a dildo, maybe," Nick muses. He swipes his fingers through the come on Louis's belly and lifts it to Louis's mouth. Louis takes them in at once, licking his own come off of Nick's fingers. "A nice thick one, maybe glass? We'll chill it first in the freezer, so it's so cold when it goes inside, and you warm it all up. Glass ones don't move, right? It'll be so stiff inside you."

"Cold?" Louis asks, voice muffled from Nick's fingers. He seems to like that a lot. He adds another finger and lets out a choked noise, but his eyes are locked on Nick's face. Nick removes his fingers so Louis can talk again. "And you'll fuck me when you get hard again? I'll keep the dildo in and make myself come and then you'll fuck me again?"

"Fuck you so good, angel," Nick murmurs, stroking Louis's sweaty hair. "And since you like to have your mouth full, maybe next time I fuck you we'll get a toy for you to suck on, mm? You liked having your plug in your mouth the other night didn't you?"

Louis blushes, arm moving so slow, cock wet on his tummy. "Like being full," he admits shamefully. "Like getting things wet."

"I'd got that, yes," Nick says. He strokes his thumb over Louis's bottom lip, and Louis ducks down to take it in his mouth. It's quite ridiculously hot. 

Louis pulls back. "You should make me kneel at your feet and then fuck my mouth with a dildo or a plug or something." He goes even redder. "I'd be learning."

"You absolutely would," Nick agrees, trying to ignore the little quivery jump his dick makes at the thought. He is not 19 anymore, and hasn't been for the longest time. There is literally no way on earth he's getting hard any time soon, even if the hottest lad he's ever met is sprawled across his sheets, knees still up to his chest, fingering Nick's come out of his bum. "And you are an excellent learner."

Louis pokes him in the stomach with his foot. "Don't make fun," he says, still fingering himself. He's lazy about it, though, lacking intent. He slides his fingers out and wipes them on the sheet. "It's still dark outside," he says. "What time is it?"

"It's not dark," Nick protests, waving his arm in the direction of the window, where the faintest glow suggests the sun's going to rise at some point soon. 

"Oh dear," Louis says, and he frowns sympathetically. "Is this because you're so old, love? Are you seeing things?"

"You are an absolute terror," Nick tells him, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last. "The sun is totally rising."

"Yes," Louis says, very patiently. "I'm sure it is, somewhere in the world."

"It is here, too," Nick protests. "Oh, fuck this. Come on, you awful thing." He tugs on Louis's hand, and Louis complains, loudly, letting go of his dick. 

"Where are we going?"

"To watch the sun finish rising in the hot tub, where else," Nick says, and Louis jumps up then, the two of them racing up the stairs to the top floor and the balcony. There's another hot tub on the ground floor, out on the terrace, but this one upstairs feels more like theirs, private and just for them. Opening the doors lets in the freezing cold November morning air, and they both shriek their feelings as they scramble for the hot tub, Nick getting in first and Louis sliding in after him, sinking as far down in the water as they can, so that only their noses show above the water line. Steam rises slowly from the gorgeous heat of the tub, and Louis immediately settles himself in the open V of Nick's legs. 

"See," he says, in satisfaction. "Still dark."

Nick rolls his eyes and points to the east. "Sun, rising," he says. "So there."

"Shush," Louis says, sinking down into the delicious heat, curled into Nick like there's only the two of them in the world and nobody else. "We're watching the sun rise, Nicholas, so shut it."

Nick smiles at that, and kisses the top of Louis's head. It would be so easy to say, _I love you_. 

They watch the sun rise in a sleepy, comfortable silence, wrapped together in the hot water. It's gorgeous over the mountains, making the snow sparkle, the view absolutely breathtaking, but Nick's attention is on the boy in his arms, and no sunrise can compare.

In the morning light, Louis looks very pale and his eyes are a bit puffy and red. He yawns widely, stretching, turning to face Nick as he does. Nick pokes him gently in the tummy and Louis hunches over, rubbing his belly and giving Nick a grumpy look. 

"You all right, little one?" Nick asks. It's getting a little too warm, and he'd like to take a shower and have some breakfast. He's got lube all the fuck over himself.

"Yeah," Louis answers, yawning again and then rubbing at his eyes with his fingers like a little kid. "Didn't sleep much."

Nick frowns and makes a sympathetic sound, rubbing at Louis's hip. "I'm sorry, love. D'you wanna go back to bed? I can wake you up when breakfast is ready."

Louis shakes his head and kisses the underside of Nick's jaw. "Nah, maybe have a nap later, I think."

Nick hums his agreement, thinking of just how nice it is to not have to worry about anything, have nothing on his schedule but an afternoon nap with his favourite boy. He pulls Louis close and hugs him, wrapping Louis up in safe and secure in his arms. Louis tucks in close and sighs, arms round Nick's waist. 

They stay like that for a bit longer, until the sun is up properly, and the lure of the shower and central heating drags them back inside. 

Afterwards, when they've taken advantage of the shower to touch each other a lot under the guise of thoroughly cleaning each other up, Nick pulls on a pair of trackies and a t-shirt. Louis doesn't don more than a pair of boxer-briefs with red hearts on them and one of Nick's oldest, most comfortable jumpers that covers Louis's bum and falls off one of his shoulders. His hair dries into a fluffy fringe on his forehead. 

Nick just adores him, everything about him, even when he's being a bit grumpy and tired and keeps unconsciously rubbing over his smooth legs.

They eat breakfast on the table by the terrace, warm twists of fresh bread and jars of jam, a huge pot of milky coffee in between them. Louis doesn't even bother trying to sit somewhere that isn't plastered to Nick's side; he positions his chair next to Nick's and pulls his place setting down the table, upsetting a water glass and the charcuterie plate as he does. Nick rights things in Louis's wake, and he can't quite work out how much sleep Louis actually got, because he's sleepy and grumbling, dark shadows underneath his eyes. Nick lifts his arm up and Louis slides underneath, resting his head on Nick's shoulder. He butters the warm twists of bread for Nick, though, slathering them in black cherry jam, holding them up for Nick to bite. 

"What do you want to do today?" Nick asks. Louis usually has bags of energy, and Nick's not usually one for sitting around doing not very much either, but he's feeling suitably lazy today. 

Louis shrugs a bit against his shoulder. "Dunno," he says. Nick kisses the top of his head. 

"They've got the first series of _The OC_ on DVD, I saw it downstairs," Nick says, nodding in the direction of the stairs down to the cinema room. Like any holiday home, regardless of cost, the selection of available DVDs always remains a little esoteric. 

"Never saw that," Louis says, licking his jammy fingers. "They've got Battleship, though. The game, not the film."

"Are you challenging me to a duel?" Nick asks, even though he's not really one for board games. "If they've got Guess Who, though, I'll wipe your arse with that."

"You will not," Louis says, shoving a bit of croissant in Nick's direction. "You're old, you probably don't remember the rules to any of these things, anyway. It'll be like playing with your nan, always having to explain things. Do you think they have a pack of cards?"

"You are an obnoxious terror of a boyfriend," Nick says, quite thoroughly delighted with him. "Hey, what do you want to eat today? I'll call housekeeping and get them to bring it over."

Louis looks down at his lap. "Sandwiches," he says. "Ham and cheese. Or like, subway sandwiches. I like those. The meaty ones. And chocolate chip cookies. Salt and vinegar crisps. Peanuts and M&Ms. Hot dogs. Stuff like that."

"Sounds perfect," Nick lies. "Let's just lie about in front of the telly all day and play cards for kisses."

Louis looks up at that. "You don't mind?" he asks, a little hesitantly. "You don't want to ski or sightsee or anything?"

Nick looks at him, at his boyfriend with his hair all sticking up and shadows like bruises under his eyes. "I'd rather just be here with you," he says finally, because all of a sudden he can't think of anything witty to say that isn't _I love you_. 

Louis looks touched. His eyes even get a little bit wet, which is a bit startling, but he's obviously exhausted. He sets his toast down and licks his fingers clean, and then hugs Nick very tightly. Nick rubs his back. He can't help but smile. His heart feels like it's too big for his chest. He can't even remember life before he had this boy in his arms, and they've only been together a few weeks.

After breakfast they go downstairs to the cinema room and after Louis's looked miserably at Nick's proffered _OC_ boxset, Nick hands Louis the digital remote so he can order whatever films he likes. Whilst he's doing that, Nick disappears off on a mission to find them blankets and board games and drinks. When he gets back, Louis is sitting cross-legged on the sofa and what seems like the entire back catalogue of Marvel films has been added to their watch list on the TV. 

"Oh, Louis," Nick sighs, long-suffering.

"Just because it isn't some, like, Czech indie film where everyone kills themselves in the end doesn't mean it's not good, Nicholas."

"Mmhm," says Nick, who doesn't really like miserable European indie films very much, but seems to end up invited to more weird arty parties to celebrate their release and inevitable subsequent disappearance from existence more regularly than he'd like. Louis's clearly been flicking through Nick's ignored pile of mail at home. Anyway, superhero films are just so _ridiculous_ , is all, silly comic books that have somehow overtaken the world. Nick is fine with a good action flick, but honestly, this superhero nonsense is a bit much. He was never that little boy running around wearing a towel as a cape and wanting to save the world. 

"We'll start with the first two _Iron Man_ films, then _Thor_ , and _Captain America_."

"Yay," Nick deadpans.

Louis makes a face at him. "Don't think I haven't noticed you find Chris Evans fit as fuck."

Nick doesn't comment on that, although he does say nothing really quite loudly. In the end, he sticks his tongue out at Louis, who laughs and does it right back.

They turn on the film and play a few rounds of Battleship. Louis wins twice and is an overdramatic loser the third time. (Nick's behaviour was perfectly respectable when he lost the first two times. Honest. And he's not a sore winner no matter what Louis says.) The second _Iron Man_ ends right around midday, and they end up stumbling upstairs together in search of sustenance and sandwiches.

"What is all this stuff?" Louis asks, looking at the bread and meat and chest and condiments available in the fridge. Everything looks delicious. Nick hasn't had a good sandwich in ages.

"Is that a trick question?" Nick asks, pulling out a few things at a time.

Louis pokes hesitantly at one of the cheeses. "Is that one okay?"

Nick looks over his shoulder. The cheese is blue veined and probably delicious. "It's Gorgonzola," he says. "It's supposed to look like that." 

Louis wrinkles his nose. "How do you know when it's gone off if it's blue already?"

Nick doesn't know the answer to that. "You just—eat it."

"I'm not eating that," Louis says. "Or that one."

"That's Vacherin," Nick says. "Try it. It's soft. Maybe a bit like brie?"

Louis pokes it further back in the fridge. "I don't like brie," he says. "Isn't there any normal cheese?"

"What kind of cheese do you like?" Nick asks. He reaches past Louis for the cooked meats, and the butter. He doesn't normally indulge in butter but they're on holiday, and he can go to the gym a couple of extra times next week. 

Louis shrugs. "Normal cheese," he says. "Cheddar. The red one."

"Edam?" Nick suggests, having a bit of a look through the selection of cheeses on the shelf in the fridge. 

"Suppose," Louis says. 

"Right then, we'll try Emmental. That's a bit like Edam."

Louis narrows his eyes. "Are you trying to feed me something terrible?"

"I'm expanding your horizons," Nick says. "Do you want ham and cheese?"

"It won't taste right," Louis grumbles, but he sticks close to Nick's side as Nick takes everything over to the counter. Nick busies himself cutting the bread rolls into two, and passes them to Louis. 

"Butter those, will you? There's a love. I'll make us some tea."

Louis dutifully starts buttering the bread, and Nick puts the kettle on, leaning back against the counter for a moment. Nick's jumper is hanging off Louis's shoulder, and Louis is still carefully buttering the rolls. Nick goes back over as the water boils, and kisses the back of the Louis's neck. 

"Now, I know you're going to moan, love, but what do you want with your ham and cheese?" He sneaks the rolls away from under Louis's nose, and starts to layer them with slices of ham and slices of the Emmental. There's mayo, or gherkins, or whatever your weird self might want."

"Bet there's no salad cream," Louis says. 

"You'd probably bet right," Nick says. He squishes the top of the roll down on top of his sandwich, then cuts it in half, handing one to Louis. "I'll remember to courier it out next time. Try that."

Louis looks down at his sandwich. He looks trepidatious. 

"Go on," Nick nudges him with his elbow. "Try it."

Gingerly, Louis takes a bite. "It's okay," he says, after he's swallowed. 

Nick rolls his eyes. "You're my amazing pedestrian boyfriend," he says, going back over to pour the water over a couple of tea bags. 

"Hey," Louis says, coming over. He wraps an arm around Nick's waist, and presses his nose to the centre of Nick's back. "You're the best."

"I know, I know," Nick says, tapping his fingers against the counter. "I'm terribly handsome and rich and amazing and everyone should recognise that—"

"I love you," Louis says softly. 

Nick goes terribly, terribly still. 

His chest feels tight. Louis is pressed close and he's rubbing Nick's belly with his hand in slow circles. It's very soothing. Nick turns very slowly in the circle of his arms, and Louis is biting his bottom lip but he meets Nick's eyes easily. He's really very beautiful. Nick takes a slow breath. "Yeah?"

Louis smiles, and it's so genuine and sweet and unguarded in a way he almost never is. He takes Nick's hand and lifts it to his lips, kissing the knuckles. "Yeah. I just…it feels…it hasn't been very long, y'know? And I was scared. I'm still, kinda, but I'm really. Like, I'm really, really in love with you, Nick."

Nick pulls him into a kiss, and then a hug; his whole body feels lit up, throat aching and he's smiling so hard it hurts. "I love you too," Nick tells him, and it's such a relief being able to say it out loud again.

Louis digs his fingers into Nick's back and smiles against Nick's neck, pressing a kiss there. "'Cos you're mad," he murmurs.

"'m not. Everyone's a bit in love with you, I've seen your friends. You're incredible. And you're mine. I love you so much, babe, you've got no idea."

Louis huddles in closer. "Was thinkin'…when you were asleep last night, and I was watching you, cos I'm creepy like that. I was thinking that maybe you're my soulmate, or something. If something like that exists."

Nick kisses him again, overwhelmed. Soulmates sounds just right to him, the way Louis's crawled right into him like he belongs there, the way he feels like home. He murmurs his love all across Louis's jaw and neck until Louis laughs and pushes him away. "All right, all right, enough of that, you horrible sap. My sandwich is going stale."

"Oh, _I'm_ the horrible sap," Nick says, rolling his eyes. He can't keep the smile from his face; his chest feels so full it's just got to burst right out of him. He settles for scooping out the tea bags and adding milk to their tea. "There you go, you awful pest. I've made you tea."

Louis peers into the cup. "You've brewed that too long."

"That's it," Nick says, and he dumps his sandwich down onto the counter and wraps his arms around Louis's waist, ignoring his yelp as he lifts him up. "You are a total menace, and I love you, and for that crime I'm dumping you on the sofa until I've finished making us lunch."

"No," Louis's laughing as he tries to pull away, bumping his knee into Nick's thigh. "You can't do this, you love me."

"About as much as chicken pox," Nick says, calmly depositing Louis on the sofa the other side of the room. "Now stay here and don't flipping move for five whole minutes whilst I get us lunch."

He does not look back over his shoulder, even as Louis points out that he can still offer advice from the safety of the other side of the room. 

"Easier to ignore though, innit?" Nick points out. He gets two plates out of the cupboard, and puts their second sandwich on it, and then cuts up some cucumber and tomatoes to go on the side, and makes another sandwich up to join that one, smoked ham this time, doubled up with some kind of salami. He cuts it in half and adds one to each plate, before cutting up a few slithers of different cheeses and adding them to each of their plates. Then there are apples, and chocolate pots, and fresh cups of tea and orange juice, and he puts the whole thing on a tray, grabs the bag with all their film snacks in, and heads for the stairs down to the cinema. "Chop, chop," he says as he passes Louis, but Louis just pulls a face at him and stays where he is. He calls up the stairs when he gets downstairs, "If you get your arse down here in two seconds flat, you can say I owe you a blow job, to be redeemed wherever, and whenever you please."

Louis makes it down the stairs in three seconds, but Nick will allow that. 

"Pest," he says, gently, and Louis carefully removes the tray and the bag of snacks, putting them down on the table by the sofa, and then walks Nick back into the wall. 

"Hi," he says softly, and kisses him. 

"Hiya," Nick murmurs, settling his arms around Louis's waist. They fall onto the sofa lengthways, Nick on top, both of them laughing. Louis shoves at him until he sits up and they settle in close together to watch _Thor_ and eat lunch.

It is the laziest day Nick has spent in years, and it's actually so nice and relaxing he can't believe he went so long without a do-nothing day. They watch all of Louis's silly superhero movies (that turn out to be pretty great overall) and have posh pizza for dinner that they have delivered from the resort. Louis dozes off more than once, tucked against Nick's side, adorable in Nick's jumper and his silly underwear. During the second _Thor_ movie, Nick has Louis stretch out and rest his head in Nick's lap, and Nick strokes his hair.

It's only about ten when the film ends, but the lights come up when Nick turns the TV off and he's yawning and feeling full and sleepy. He strokes Louis's cheek and murmurs his name gently, until Louis comes awake with a sweet little sigh and a smile. Nick smiles right back.

"Hi, sweetheart," he says. "Ready to head upstairs?"

Louis grumbles, sitting up and yawning. "Waking me up just to take me to bed?"

"I'll be useless if I sleep in this position, darling. Who's going to wine and dine you if I'm stuck in bed with back pain?"

"You're not as old as you think you are," says Louis, standing up and offering Nick his hand. Nick kisses the palm before lacing their fingers together and hefting himself up.

It makes Nick inexplicably happy, this night time ritual they have together suddenly, standing side by side in the bathroom to clean their teeth. Afterwards they kiss the minty taste right out of each other's mouths, and then strip down for bed. Louis leaves his pants on and crawls under the covers. Nick can't stand to sleep in anything, so he slides bare between the sheets. Louis pulls him close at once, tugging Nick around until Nick is on his side, wrapped all around him, Louis's smaller body tucked in close. Nick huffs a sleepy laugh.

"Settled then, princess?"

"Mmm," says Louise, already mostly asleep. "G'night, Daddy. Love you."

Nick closes his eyes. He's really fucking happy. "Love you too, kitten. G'night."

~*~

Nick wakes up in the middle of the night to Louis crying; loud, desperate sobs that tear through Nick's sleep like a knife. Louis is sobbing and crying out, whimpering, _stay away, please, not again_ that Nick thinks are directed towards him for the first few moments he's awake. 

"Louis?" His heart is pounding already, startled awake in the middle of the night, the only light the moonlight sneaking in through the open curtains. "Lou, love—"

It only strikes him that Louis is in the middle of a nightmare when Louis skitters away from him, shoving him away at Nick's touch. Nick, terrified of how scared Louis is, and how desperate those sobs are, makes a grab for his wrists. 

"Louis, love, come on, sweetheart," he says. "You're sleeping. Wake up, love, come on. It's a nightmare. You're having a nightmare. Louis, come on, my love. Wake up. It's okay. You're okay. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe."

Louis startles awake mid-sob, and he kicks Nick away, battling away from him, skittering back against the pillows with his arms around his knees. He's crying. 

"Louis, it's me. You were having a nightmare. You're safe." Nick's terrified and he's just had to experience it from the outside. He can't imagine how scared Louis is right now.

"Nick—get the light. Put the light on." He's still crying.

Nick stumbles out of bed, and tries to find the switch for the lamp. He flicks it on and the room is bathed in soft, warm light. He tries to crawl over to where Louis is, hiding in the corner of the bed, but Louis shakes his head. 

"Don't," he says. "Just—stay there a minute."

"Okay," Nick says, even though it isn't okay. He gets the box of tissues from the chest of drawers in the corner, and pokes it across the bed. He feels useless and scared and awkward, and all he wants to do is gather Louis up into the tightest hug he can imagine, and to kiss the tears from his cheeks and to stop him shaking like he is now. 

It's another minute before Louis stops hiding behind his hand, but he shakes his head when Nick takes a step towards him. "I can't," he says, and he's still crying, but it's not as fierce as before. "Don't hate me."

"I couldn't," Nick says uselessly, and then he has to watch whilst Louis goes over to the windows onto the balcony to check that they're locked, and draws the curtains until there isn't a slither of moonlight sneaking through. Next is the bedroom door; he flicks the lock and grabs the chair from the dressing table, tilting it up so that it's jammed under the handle. He switches the light on next, the big one, and then the en-suite bathroom light, and then the lamp by the side of his bed. He glances at Nick then, uncertain and still scared, and motions him out of the way so that he can open the wardrobe and check inside. He does the same in the bathroom, checking behind the shower curtain and behind the door. 

"Louis—" Nick says, softly. "Lou, love."

"I'm fine," Louis says, and it's so much of a lie that Nick doesn't know what to do with himself, and he has to watch as Louis crawls back into bed, sitting right in the centre of the pillows with his knees drawn up to his chest. 

"Can I—" Nick doesn't know what to do. "Can I give you a hug?"

Louis waits a very long time before nodding his _okay_. 

Nick takes great care, his heart still pounding but his fierce need to comfort and protect Louis simply instinct. Louis watches his every move, and Nick keeps his body language open and easy and confident, makes sure Louis can see his hands at all times. He touches Louis's arm first and Louis jumps, but he doesn't pull away, and Nick slowly wraps one arm around him.

Louis is stiff and so very tense, but he leans into Nick after a few long moments, his breath hitching, tears on his cheeks. He looks so pale and sad and frightened and frustrated, all at once, more guarded than Nick's ever seen him. Nick rubs his back and touches his lips to Louis's neck and bare shoulder. The scars on Louis's back feel more noticeable than usual. Louis is trembling _so much_. He hiccups and slowly, very slowly, wraps his arms around Nick.

It's all the invitation Nick needs to wrap him up more tightly. Louis climbs into Nick's lap, breathing hard, sniffling, and Nick cradles him as close and as carefully as he can. Louis's never felt smaller and he feels impossibly fragile in Nick's arms. "It's all right," Nick tells him, even though it's not. "I've got you, sweetheart."

"Was only a dream," Louis whispers. "I'm fine."

"You're not," Nick murmurs, because he hates that Louis thinks Nick needs him to be. "It's all right that you're not, Lou."

Louis pulls in a shuddering breath. "Must drive you mad," he says, voice wet like he's going to cry again. "Must drive you mad having to… to walk on egg shells around me. Never know when I'll go off on you. I must seem like such a fucking child to you."

Nick shakes his head, pulling Louis back gently so he can see his face. He thumbs the tears from under his eyes, feeling rather close to them himself at the sight of his boy in pain. "You don't," he insists. "God, Louis, I don't think that way about you at all. I think you're brilliant, and such a lovely old soul, and I trust you to tell me if something I do bothers you, or scares you. I trust you." Louis doesn't say anything, closing his eyes as more tears spill down his cheeks. Nick kisses his forehead. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

Louis shakes his head and tucks his face into Nick's neck. "I don't want you to pity me," he says, so muffled and quiet that Nick almost misses it. Nick's heart just shatters; he can feel the shards of it cutting up his insides.

"Oh, Louis, I wouldn't—"

"You do, sometimes," Louis says stubbornly. "When you first…when you saw."

He doesn't need to clarify. "That wasn't—Louis, that wasn't pity, love. That was, just. You've been hurt." It's hard to get out, and he's never said it out loud. Louis pulls back to see his face and Nick's eyes feel wet too. He cups Louis's cheek. "You've been hurt, and I hate it."

Louis shakes his head, but Nick just strokes his thumb over Louis's cheek. It's wet from all the crying. 

"I never pitied you," he says, softly. He wants to kiss him so much, but he doesn't. He just keeps on stroking his thumb over Louis's cheek. "I just hated that you'd been hurt."

"It was a long time ago," Louis says, but he's still shaking, shivers that run across his skin like he's freezing cold instead of cosy warm inside the chalet. "I'm fine."

"You're perfect," Nick says, stroking Louis's hair away from his face. "When this happens and you're by yourself, what do you do? What can I do?"

Louis shrugs, still shivering. "I wake Harry up and we watch DVDs."

Nick reaches for the remote on the bedside table. The TV is over in the corner, and he switches it on, going straight for the media archive. "What do you fancy?" 

"Any funny TV series," he says. "I don't care what. _Friends_ or _Fawlty Towers_ or _The Inbetweeners_ or _Red Dwarf_ or anything."

"Looks like we've got a choice between _Only Fools and Horses_ or _As Time Goes By_." He isn't getting up to fiddle with it or work out why he can't get the range of stuff that he can get downstairs in the cinema room. 

"You plonker," Louis says, and Nick smiles and picks _Only Fools and Horses_. He then busies himself rearranging the pillows and pulling the duvet up so that Louis is curled up in his lap, all warm and safe. He's still trembling, but he's safe. All Nick wants is for him to feel safe. 

"I love you," he says, quietly.

Louis shifts a little in his arms. "Sorry," he says, without looking up. "That you had to see that."

"Don't ever apologise for that, love."

Louis doesn't say anything for a while, and Nick contents himself with stroking his hand down over Louis's side, over and over, repetitive and safe. 

"I'm scared of the dark," Louis says, after a while. "That's why—last night and tonight. I'm terrified of the dark."

Nick wants to cry. 

He kisses the top of Louis's head and holds him more tightly, wishing Louis had said something ages ago. They've spent so many nights together, bathed in darkness. "We'll leave a light on, always."

"I don't want to keep you awake," Louis says, so quiet and ashamed and Nick _hates_ that he's so upset, so down on himself. 

"I can sleep through anything, love, a little light wouldn't bother me at all. A _lot_ of light wouldn't bother me at all. Whatever you need."

Louis sniffles, his eyes locked on the TV. "It's embarrassing."

"None of that," Nick reprimands softly, stroking Louis's arm. Louis's getting sleepy again, starting to relax. It's half three in the morning. "You shouldn't be embarrassed. People are afraid of all sorts of things. I can't bear going to the dentist. Cleanings require three people to hold me down and more often than not, a sedative."

Louis lifts an eyebrow and finally looks at him. "Really?"

"Really. Ask Gillian. And my brother. And Ian and Finchy. Anyone who's had to escort me, actually. I have recurring nightmares about all of my teeth crumbling out of my head."

"Idiot," says Louis, and Nick lets out a surprised laugh.

"Brat," he replies. Louis smiles, though it's weak and not very genuine, and rests his head on Nick's chest again. The telly is still on, and all the lights. Nick shimmies them down a bit so they're lying down properly again. "You should try and sleep again, love. We'll leave all the lights on."

Louis hums. "TV too?"

"'Course," says Nick. "Have to see what happens, don't we?"

Louis doesn't sleep for the longest time, and Nick knows because he refuses to even countenance sleep until he's sure that Louis is flat out. It's only when Louis's grip on Nick's hand finally loosens, and his breathing steadies out, that he knows that Louis has finally passed out. It's after five in the morning.

He closes his eyes, but sleep is a long time coming. 

~*~

They eat almond croissants and raisin Danish pastries wrapped in a duvet in the living room in the morning. It's snowing outside, and Nick ends up watching the snow fall more than he watches _Iron Man 3_ on the telly. Louis has been clingy all morning, attached to him at the hip but refusing eye contact more often than not. When they'd woken up, Louis had shamefacedly taken the chair away from the door and switched the lights off, but Nick had just gathered him into a hug and told him not to be embarrassed. 

Nick really has no idea what he's doing, but at least Louis is curled into his side now, wearing nothing but Nick's old sweater and his pants again. He isn't shaking. Nick is counting that as a win, at least. 

"Can we have sex today?" Louis asks, about half way through the film. 

Nick, who may or may not have been dozing, startles awake. "What?" he asks. "Of course, love. Why? Did you think that we wouldn't?"

Louis shrugs a little. "Dunno," he says. "Didn't know if you'd want to. After everything."

"You're an idiot," Nick says, which he might have put a little differently if he hadn't just woken up. "I adore you. Everything about you. I want to have sex with you forever."

Louis goes pink. "Nick," he says. 

"Very much in love with you and your penis," Nick says, as lightly as he can manage. "Do you want to do it now?"

Louis shakes his head, and curls into Nick's side. He's still flushed red, and Nick slides his hand under his jumper, fingertips resting against Louis's hip. He rubs his thumb over the scar there, the big, nasty one that looks different to all the others. "The film hasn't finished yet."

"Orgasms wait for Tony Stark," Nick agrees sagely, and doesn't stop stroking Louis's side. 

They finish the film, sharing a few kisses. Louis's tugged his jumper up a bit, and opened his legs so that Nick can stroke him down his torso to his thighs and back again, and Louis is warm and lax and lazily hard in his pants. As soon as the credits start, he stretches up to kiss Nick's temple. "Daddy?"

Nick hums softly, settling his hand between Louis's legs, just holding him there. Louis lets out a pleased sigh and Nick kisses his cheek. "Yes, little one?"

"I want my collar."

"It's upstairs in the bedroom, darling. Shall we go and get it?"

Louis nods, and rests his hand over Nick's on his dick. Louis loves this, being hard and touched but without intent. He loves to be teased.

"Yes, please," Louis says, breathy but polite. "While we're up there, will you show me some of the things you brought for us to play with?"

Nick's breath catches and he pulls Louis in close. "Yeah, sweetheart, we can do that. I'll show you everything, and you can pick the things you like."

Louis sits up and smiles, wets his lips, his hair rumpled. He's so hot like this and he looks _excited_ , which is so much better than the fragile fear that plagued him most of the morning. Nick takes him upstairs, his hand low on Louis's back, steady and possessive as they walk, and Louis goes into the bathroom to pick up his collar where they left it before their shower the day before yesterday, whilst Nick pulls the case with all his presents for Louis out from under the bed. He sits down on the low window seat with his legs spread, and Louis settles down cross-legged on the floor between them, in front of the case, and hands Nick his collar. Nick kisses his neck before fastening it. As soon as it's on, the tension visibly loosens from Louis's shoulders and back, and he gives Nick a wan smile.

"Lovely," Nick says, thumbing over Louis's bottom lip. He bends down to kiss him before gesturing to the case. "Go on, then, love. Have a look."

Louis looks nervous and curious and excited all at the same time, and he flips up the clasps on the front and opens it up.

Inside is a wealth of things to explore, and Louis inhales sharply. Nick watches as Louis reaches in. On top are several camisoles and slips, some lace and some silk, some with pretty bows and ruffles, some that will cover his bum and crotch and some that absolutely will not. Louis chooses one that's black and see-through, with ruffles at the hem and soft, open lace at the breasts. Nick bought ones that mostly came without bra pieces, but he'd been limited by the options available in the shops. If Louis likes wearing them, he'll have Louis taken to his tailor and measured, get him custom made lingerie and knickers that will fit him exactly right.

"This is beautiful," Louis murmurs, pulling it out of the case to feel it properly. He rubs it against his face and Nick wants to tear his clothes off right there.

"Would be beautiful on you, if you'd like," says Nick.

Louis keeps it in his lap, and goes back to the case. He's eager in his exploration. There are several pairs of knickers to go through, and he inspects every single one of them. He's getting hard in his briefs; Nick can see the bulge underneath his jumper. There are briefs and high-waisted ones and thongs, brazilians and g-strings and all sorts. "Wow," Louis says, his voice thick. "You're all about options, aren't you?"

"I wanted you to have the choice," Nick replies, stroking Louis's hair. "So you can figure out what you like best."

Under the knickers and lingerie, at the bottom of the case, are the toys Nick bought. There are several dildos in different sizes, one with a suction cup, a few butt plugs, some with a prostate massager and some that vibrate. There's a silicone cock ring that Louis inspects curiously, and the simple metal cock cage Nick brought. Louis picks that up like it's something fragile, and touches it all over. It's incredibly reverent, the way he handles it; just the idea of him in it has Nick hard in his trousers. Louis keeps that in one hand, and picks up one of the bigger dildos - a lavender silicone one - that's about the size of Nick in his other hand.

"Pretty," Louis says, and Nick hums his agreement. Louis sets the cock cage down and grips the dildo by the base in one fist, and grazes his fingers up it, and then back down, and before Nick can even begin to imagine what he'll do next, he brings it to his lips and laps at it with his tongue.

"Lou," Nick says, aroused even though he can't see very well with Louis facing away from him. Louis sucks the head into his mouth and turns a bit, so Nick can see.

He laps at it again, cheeks hollowed as he sucks at the tip, and Nick is almost dizzy with how quickly he gets properly, on-the-edge hard. When Louis wraps his mouth around the dildo, taking it in like he does Nick's dick, Nick wants nothing more than to make Louis come forever. 

"You dirty boy," Nick breathes, one hand to Louis's hair. "Aren't you good for Daddy, practicing like this?"

Louis takes the dildo out of his mouth with a _pop_. There's a little line of spit that takes a moment to break. "Can I get dressed up so you can fuck me?" he asks, voice a little high. He clears his throat. He still has the black ruffled camisole in his hand; there are matching knickers somewhere, with ribbon lacing over the bum. He splays his fingers over Nick's knee. "Daddy, I want—" he stops. "I want something in my mouth. I'll go down on this if you'll let me." He holds out the dildo, still spit-wet at the tip. Nick's brain starts to leak out of his ears. It's the only explanation for how he feels. "Keep me all full up while you're fucking me, Daddy."

"Use you like the needy boy you are," Nick says, stroking his hair away from his face. It's getting long. "You're so desperate for it, aren't you, love? Wanting to be filled from both ends."

"Yes, yes," Louis agrees, nodding. He shifts, leaning in to press his mouth to the cotton of Nick's briefs. "Let me get you all ready."

Nick trails his fingers over Louis's cheeks. "You love a cock in your mouth, don't you, darling?" 

Louis nods, and Nick helps Louis out of his clothes. Then Louis's naked in front of him, the heavy scar across his hips the only sign that Nick can see of the things in Louis's past that still cause him such pain. 

"Let's get your knickers on first, little one." They're just there on top of the case, black ruffles and the ribbon bow lacing over the bum. He helps Louis into them, and then makes him turn around so that he can lace him up. He ties it off in an elaborate, black bow, and doesn't let his gaze stray to the thin, angry scars over Louis's skin. "So pretty, little one. Turn around so that Daddy can put you in your pretty camisole."

It turns out Louis is _stunning_ in it. He was made for this kind of attention, this kind of soft ruffle and almost-shy hesitation as he stands there, in front of Nick. 

"Do I look nice, Daddy?" he asks, chewing his lip. "Do I look pretty?"

Nick has to clear his throat before he can talk. "You look beautiful, baby," he says, hands to Louis's hips. He turns him around, lifting up the camisole a little so that he can see the ruffles over Louis's bum, and the elaborate ribbon lacing with the large bow. "Daddy's never seen a prettier boy."

Louis preens with it, wriggling his bum, darting a glance over his shoulder, bottom lip between his teeth. "Want your cock, Daddy," he says, voice a little breathy. "Let me have your cock in my mouth."

Nick pulls him down into a heated, desperate kiss. "I love you," he says, against Louis's mouth. "My beautiful boy."

Louis blinks at him with wide, sweet eyes, his hands folded in front of himself, his underarms all bare and smooth when Nick touches them. "I love you too, Daddy," Louis says, getting down to his knees when Nick sinks onto the sofa of the small sitting area, the dildo next to Nick on the cushion. "I love you so much. I want to make you feel so good, Daddy, can I?"

Nick palms himself through his briefs and then lifts his hips to pull them down. Louis helps him get them off, and he licks his lips at the sight of Nick's cock, hard and big, jutting out proudly from between Nick's legs. "Like that, baby?" Nick asks, voice a bit gruff. "My sweet, lovely boy, do you like to see how hard you've made Daddy?"

Louis nods, and he gives Nick a tremulous sort of look. "Daddy, I've never…" he gulps a breath and gives his most innocent expression and Nick feels like he might come right then and there. "I've never seen anyone else's but my own. Are they always so big as yours?"

Jesus fucking Christ, Nick fucking _loves_ Louis. He loves it when they play this game. "Not always, angel," he murmurs, and strokes himself very softly. "Daddy's a bit bigger than average."

"It's so big," Louis says, gaze flitting from Nick's face to his dick and back again. He's so good at playing innocent. Nick loves it. "Does it feel nice when you touch it?"

"Feels nice, yeah," Nick agrees, spreading his legs a bit more. "Haven't you ever touched yourself, love?"

Louis blushes fiercely. "No, it's so. It's so _dirty_ , Daddy, and naughty, and I'm a good boy."

Nick moans softly, cupping his balls. "It's a good dirty, baby. You're a very good boy. You've never played with yourself at all?"

Louis folds his hands behind his back. His camisole is perfectly see-through, and his cock is so hard in his knickers underneath. "Not. Not on purpose. I had a dream, once, and when I woke up I was so…I couldn't help it, Daddy. I didn't really touch myself, I promise. I just, I just rubbed on the bed, and it felt so good I came in my pants, got them all messy."

Jesus. Fuck. Nick is going to _die_. "I bet you were so gorgeous, sweetheart, humping your bed, so turned on, rubbing off into your knickers."

"Do you want to come?" Louis asks, leaning forward like he can't help himself, his breath ghosting over Nick's cock. "I feel so pretty in my new things, Daddy."

"You're stunning, baby, and I want to come very much."

"I want to taste you," Louis whispers, like he's telling an embarrassing secret.

"Of course you do, love, you're such a curious boy aren't you? You can taste me as much as you like."

Louis moans, hands still behind his back, leaning forward a bit more. "Will you. I don't know _how_ , Daddy, please, I want it so much."

Nick is going to die. He's going to actually die. "It's like licking a lollipop, baby," he says, cupping Louis's cheek in his hand. "Can you lick Daddy like that?"

"Going to be your good, good boy," Louis says, and he leans in and starts to lap at Nick's dick like a kitten lapping milk. He does it especially slowly when he licks over Nick's slit, helplessly blurting out pre-come as Louis licks it up, innocent and kitten-like. 

"You're already such a good boy," Nick tells him, working very hard not to rock his hips up into Louis's mouth. "Daddy's good little boy."

Louis looks up at him from under dark lashes, his cheeks flushed. 

"That's right, little one," Nick says. "When you've got Daddy all wet, you can suck me. Just the tip at first, love." When Louis pulls back and looks up at him, playfully hesitant, Nick ducks down to kiss his mouth. 

"I love you, Daddy," Louis tells him, and before Nick has a moment to process it, Louis has leaned in and wrapped his mouth around the crown of his dick, sucking it in. 

Nick hisses in a breath. "That's right, little one. You're doing so well. You're such a quick learner. Daddy's so proud of you." It is a very good thing that Nick has incredible stamina, because the sight of Louis dressed up so prettily, sucking Nick's cock like it's the first time, well—it's nearly enough to tip him over the edge. He holds on, because there is no way he's going to come before he's seen Louis bobbing up and down on his dick, spit everywhere, whining around Nick's erection. 

"Daddy," Louis says, sitting back after a minute. "You're so big. Are all Daddies as big as you?"

"Some of them," Nick says. He strokes Louis's hair. "You're doing so well, baby." He can see the hard, jutting outline of Louis's cock in his pretty ruffled underwear. There's a delicious damp patch that Nick wants to put his mouth to. 

"I'm all hard," Louis confides, leaning in. "I feel all tingly inside."

Louis Tomlinson is going to be the actual death of him. 

"Playing with Daddy's dick gets you turned on, doesn't it?"

Louis nods eagerly, lapping at the tip of Nick's cock again. "Gets me so hard, Daddy. Gonna stretch out my knickers."

"There you are, lovely," Nick says, when Louis opens his mouth up and takes Nick's cock in again. "You're such a fast learner, Louis. Want you to relax a bit for me, all right?"

He guides Louis's head down further, and further, his mouth stretching wide around the girth of Nick's cock. He gags just a bit, and Nick lets him go, but Louis only pulls back a little bit, determined, breathing through his nose. Nick's going to train him up so well, but right now Louis's playing a delicious game, his sweet boy who's pretending never to have blown anyone before, his gorgeous, brilliant boy. Nick sinks back into the sofa cushions and strokes Louis's hair, moaning when Louis sinks down over him again, taking him in deep until he chokes again.

He does it over and over, determinedly, until he can hold the head of Nick's dick there for a few seconds before he has to pull off, and there are tears in his eyes and Nick is so close to coming he feels like he's going to burst. Louis's mouth is red and tender and when he says, "Daddy," his voice is absolutely wrecked.

"You look so pretty, baby," Nick tells him thickly, gripping himself again. "Sit back like a good boy now, Daddy's going to make you even prettier."

"Want it," Louis rasps, sitting back obediently. "Want to be prettiest for you Daddy."

"Close your eyes, sweetheart, Daddy's so close."

Louis does, his mouth still open, chest heaving as he catches his breath, and Nick jerks himself hard and fast three times before he starts to come. There's a lot of it, and he shoots onto Louis's face and his mouth and his neck, over his collar, marking him up as much as he can, wringing himself out with one final spurt onto Louis's cheek. 

He looks so good covered in Nick's come.

Louis sticks out his tongue and licks his lips. "Daddy," he says, and he sounds so completely, desperately wrecked that Nick barely knows what to do with himself. Nick strokes his fingers through the mess on Louis's cheeks, and holds out his fingers for Louis to lick; Louis sucks his fingers into his mouth eagerly, enthusiastically, and it's too much. Nick gathers Louis up in his arms and carries him over to the bed, setting him down at one end whilst he sorts out the pillows. 

"Lie down, baby," Nick says, and then he crawls over Louis and ducks in to kiss the corner of his mouth. "You're so pretty, Louis." He runs his finger down over the shoulder straps to the ruffles over his nipples. "Do you feel pretty, love?"

Louis nods, sucking on the tip of a finger. He's still cleaning himself up, kitten-like, and Nick doesn't know what to do with that. He helps, kissing Louis along the line of his cheek, tasting his come on Louis's skin as he kisses him again. "I am pretty, aren't I, Daddy?" 

"So pretty," Nick agrees, and he pushes up the camisole a little, enough that he can shift down the bed and press kisses to the smooth curve of Louis's tummy. He pushes it up further, so that Louis's nipples are exposed, and he plays with them, pinching them so that Louis wriggles beneath him. Louis's dick is tenting out his little ruffled knickers. 

"Daddy," Louis whines. He rocks his hips up, innocent and flushed. "Please, Daddy. I feel so nice, but I want to come. I want to come."

Nick kisses his tummy again, and hops off the bed in search of lube. He comes back with the half-used tube and the lavender dildo. He crawls over Louis and rubs the dildo over Louis's lips. "Show Daddy what you've learned," he says, and he's already getting hard again, even as Louis starts giving the dildo little kitten licks, getting it wet before wrapping his lips around it. He holds it in two hands as he sucks at it, cheeks hollowing. 

It's sinfully hot. 

"Don't take that out of your mouth," Nick instructs. "Turn over and go up onto your knees. Daddy's going to play with you until you make a mess of your knickers, my dirty boy."

Louis whines around the dildo, but he's obedient. He turns awkwardly onto his front, resting on one elbow as he slowly fucks his mouth. The camisole falls up as he gets onto his knees, baring his back and making it easy for Nick to slide his hands round underneath Louis and play with his nipples. 

Then Nick kisses the small of Louis's back, just above the thick black ribbon lacing his knickers up at the back, and nudges him, getting him to spread his legs a little wider. He can reach between his legs now, and cup Louis's lovely dick in his hand, even as he's unlacing his knickers. When he looks up, Louis is still sucking the dildo, spit going everywhere, and he's whining around it, wanton and desperate even before Nick's pushed his knickers down a little, enough that he can lube up a finger and then sneak it between Louis's cheeks to stroke over his hole. 

Louis whines loudly, blowing his toy noisily and spreading his legs, pushing his hips into Nick's hand and then back to his finger. His hole flutters as Nick strokes over it, gets it wet with lube and Louis's dick is leaking in his knickers, getting them damp against Nick's hand.

"My precious boy," Nick murmurs. Louis mewls again, positioning the dildo's base on the bed so it's sticking straight up, and he can lowers his mouth down over it. He pushes his camisole up a bit more with his other hand and tweaks at his nipples one after the other. Nick's already half hard again. "So hungry for cock, aren't you baby? My sweet, hungry boy needs to be stuffed full."

Louis whines and shoves his hips back. 

"You've never had anything inside you before, baby, have you? Daddy's gonna teach you. Daddy's going to take care of you. I'll get you nice and open, love, I know you want it so badly." 

Nick takes pity on him and presses his finger inside, hooking it up to rub against Louis's prostate. Louis gags on his toy and it's so hot, and his dick twitches in his knickers. Nick takes ages and ages, fingers Louis like he's a virgin. It's nearly ten minutes before Nick tucks another finger in. "You're going to come just from this, baby, all right? You're gonna get your knickers so messy and it's going to feel so nice, and you're not gonna have time to get soft at all, sweetheart. You're gonna sit on Daddy's cock and get hard again straight away, because nothing gets you turned on like having Daddy inside you."

Louis moans and moans, his mouth slack around his toy now so Nick can see his tongue licking all around the silicone, his face red and blissed out. His arse is just gorgeous, and Nick can't wait to get inside him.

"God, you love it," Nick says, half-amazed by the kinds of sounds Louis is making as he goes down on his dildo. He'd known that Louis would love it, but he hadn't expected _this_. He's so constantly amazed by how incredible Louis is. He slides his fingers in and out of him, fucking him slowly with just two fingers, pretending it's the first time. He rubs his thumb over Louis's slick hole as he pulls his fingers out, Louis whimpering as he slides back in, crooking his fingers just so. It's ages before he adds in a third finger, and he knows that Louis has to be close. He's whining around the dildo, mouth slack, spit everywhere, and he's trembling around Nick's fingers, his legs shaking. "Are you going to come for me, little one? You're so desperate to, aren't you, love? I can see how desperately you need it. Are you going to make a mess of your knickers for me?"

He slides a hand in between Louis's legs again, cupping his dick. His knickers are soaked wet over his dick. 

"You're so wet," Nick says. "You're so turned on. It's like you've wet your knickers, little one. Are you going to come for Daddy? Come on, baby. You're so pretty, and such a mess. How about if afterwards, I show you how much of a mess you've made of them? You could ride Daddy's cock with your messy knickers in your mouth, how about that?"

Louis whines, and he loses the dildo. Spit stretches between his mouth and the slick lavender tip. "Daddy," he begs, and he sounds so completely wrecked that Nick almost comes right there and then. "Daddy, I'm going to come."

"Yes, you are, my pretty boy," Nick says, fucking his fingers into Louis's slick hole. "Let me see how much you can take in of that dildo, love. Let me see how good you are. Show Daddy how good you are." He's sweating and close, too; he's not sure how long he'll be able to fuck Louis when Louis sinks down onto his cock afterwards. Seeing Louis dressed like this, such a mess like this, wanting it so much, is driving him close to the edge. 

Louis shifts so that his cheek is resting on his forearm, twisting around a little so that he can be sure Nick is watching. There are tear tracks on his cheeks, and he's flushed and sweaty and breathless, even as he opens his mouth and starts to slide the dildo in. It's disgracefully, brilliantly filthy, and Nick barely knows what to do with himself. 

"Come for me, Louis," he says, his voice catching as Louis takes the dildo down deep. He chokes a bit on it, sliding it out again, just keeping the tip in his mouth. "Come on, my lovely boy. Come for Daddy."

Louis does as he's told, with a wrenching cry that's muffled by the toy in his mouth. He comes all over his pretty knickers, soaking them through to Nick's hand where Nick starts to wank him through the ruffles. The dildo falls from between Louis's lips again and he keens, shuddering, riding through his orgasm, coming and coming and making such a mess.

"There's my boy," Nick says, so hard he may not survive this at all. "There's my good boy."

He takes his fingers out and Louis whines, rutting into Nick's hand still, delirious with pleasure. Nick reaches for the lube and slicks his cock up, and Louis finally stills his hips. He's so gorgeous, all wrecked and sweaty, wet knickers pulled down his bum, just come like the best boy for Nick. 

"Daddy," he moans, and rests his cheek and shoulders on the bed to push his pants down the rest of the way. Nick plucks them from his ankle and puts them on the bed next to him, and then loops an arm around Louis's waist. "Daddy, please?"

"There we are, darling," Nick says, nearly panting, hungry. "Here now, my love, on Daddy's lap."

Louis pushes himself up and Nick grips the base of his cock and settles comfortably on his knees. Louis looks over his shoulder, his mouth wet and so red from being stretched around his dildo. Nick kisses him and kisses him, and Louis spreads his legs on either side of Nick's and holds himself up just right. Nick snubs the head of his cock over Louis's wet, stretched hole, and Louis moans and presses down, sits himself fully right on Nick's cock. It's fucking wanton. He just opens right up around him, so hot inside, so very lovely, small and sweet and pretty. His camisole falls back down to cover him, his cock already half-hard again with Nick stretching him wide. His dick is a mess of come and it's getting his pretty slip wet. Nick holds him close, buried deep, and slides his hands up Louis's belly and chest, teasing at his nipples through the lace. 

"Daddy, Daddy," Louis's voice is slurred, his head tipped back onto Nick's shoulder. He grinds his hips in a slow circle and Nick nips at Louis's earlobe. "Daddy you're so big inside me. Making me hard again."

"Told you I would, didn't I?" Nick drawls, kissing Louis's neck. "My beautiful, beautiful boy."

"Do I feel good, Daddy?" Louis asks. He covers Nick's hands with his own on his chest, and guides one of them down between his legs to cup it around Louis's cock, caught in his camisole. 

"So good," Nick tells him, squeezing at Louis's dick. "You're so tight and hot, baby. You look so pretty." He fucks up into him, trying to keep it slow and measured but he can't. He just wants more. He wants so, so much more. He almost loses it when Louis tips his head back against his shoulder and reaches behind him to slide his hand into Nick's hair, keeping him close. "God, when you were going down on that dildo—"

"I could do it again, Daddy. Now. While you're using me." He sounds so wrecked, and Nick has no idea how he's not dying, coming so hard just moments ago and then being fucked like this. He's magical, and perfect, and Nick adores him. "Would you like that, Daddy? Seeing me like that?"

Nick strokes his hands all over Louis's camisole, rucking it up and pinching his nipples through it and then bringing it down to cover Louis's dick as he touches him. "Yes, baby. Show me how dirty you are, how you want two cocks, how greedy you are."

Louis whines, head tipping back again. "Daddy," he begs, and Nick doesn't know what he's begging for, but he bites down on his shoulder anyway. 

"Love you," Nick tells him, although it must be obvious because he's fucking up into him and how much he wants him must be coming off him in waves. 

Louis scrabbles round on the sheets to find his dildo, and then brings it up to his mouth. He hollows his cheeks as he slides his lips down over it, and it's seriously, seriously, the dirtiest thing that Nick has ever done in his whole life, and Nick has had a _lot_ of sex over the years. He's had a lot of dirty sex in his life, but nothing has come close to Louis riding him, desperate for him, fucking his dick up into Nick's fist, getting the camisole wet and messy as he sucks on his toy. 

Nick's hips snap up, and he was trying to make this last, but he can't. He just can't. "I want you to come on my dick," he tells Louis, because he's not coming until Louis does, and Louis is a mess. He fists Louis's dick through the ruffles of his pretty camisole. "Daddy's fucking you, sweetheart, and you feel so good. You're my messy good boy. My good girl, Louis, my good girl—"

Louis loses the dildo then, and he's crying, tears running down his face as he lifts up and then presses down onto Nick's dick, over and over. "Call me that again, Daddy," he begs, voice rough and ragged and wrecked. 

"My good girl," Nick says, still wanking him off, still biting down on the curve of his shoulder, pushing the lace strap of his camisole to one side. "Daddy's good girl, Louis. Daddy's best girl."

" _Daddy_ ," Louis sobs, and then he's coming again, coming in his camisole and Nick's fist and he's so, so beautiful that Nick can't bear the idea of trying to hold out any longer. He comes, hips rocking up, comes so hard he's seeing fucking stars and it's all he can do to just keep holding on for dear life as he comes and comes and comes. 

They collapse in a heap onto the bed after. Nick is still pretty much cross-eyed from how hot it was, and Louis is breathing like he's run a marathon. Nick gathers him close and Louis laughs, kissing Nick's face.

"Oh my _God_ ," Louis croaks, his voice wrecked. He looks delighted. "That was so hot."

"So, so hot," Nick agrees, sliding his hand underneath Louis's slip to rub his back. His heart is still racing. "You're so fucking hot, Louis, you've got no idea."

Louis blushes and kisses Nick quiet, and they end up snogging on the bed for ages, knocking Louis's messy knickers and the dildo to the floor. They fall back asleep for about an hour, snuggled together, Louis still in his pretty clothes, and when Nick wakes up the shower is running. He finds Louis already rinsing himself off, water sluicing down his back and between his arse cheeks. Sex all day, is what Nick is thinking. Sex and sex and more sex.

Nick steps in behind him and Louis turns around, grinning, and gets onto his toes to kiss Nick. It's still not very late, not even quite lunch time. Nick palms Louis's bum.

"Should we even bother getting dressed?" Louis asks, handing Nick the shampoo and stepping out of the way so Nick can get the brunt of the spray. 

Nick gives him a long, hungry look, and then nods. "'Course, baby. Good girls don't walk around without their clothes on, do they?"

The effect is immediate. Louis goes red all over and his cock fattens up like Nick's just pushed his start button. "Nick," he says, sounding embarrassed.

"Uh-uh," Nick scolds.

" _Daddy_ ," Louis corrects, rolling his eyes because he's a brat, but so obviously into it. Nick smiles and kisses his lips.

"There's my sweetheart. Go on and get dressed, baby, I'll be out in a few."

He showers quickly, feeling satisfied and smug and very, very content. When he gets back to the bedroom Louis is gone, so Nick pulls on a pair of briefs, his softest, most expensive jeans and a brushed cotton t-shirt that's so deliberately washed out he's vaguely embarrassed to ever let on to Louis how much he paid for something which looks like it's been washed endlessly for a year. 

He finds Louis downstairs, and has to stop and brace himself on the doorframe at the sight of him. Louis's chosen a soft pink camisole that's utterly see-through, tight at the top over his chest, pink and red lace stretched flat. Beyond the elastic band that rests right under his pecs, it flows gently down to just below his hips. His knickers are the same colour, but solid silk so Nick can't see skin through them, and when Louis turns, humming, and bends down to retrieve something from the fridge, Nick can see his bum cheeks peeking out, his balls obscene.

"Nick," Louis calls, without looking back to see where Nick is. "Can you come down here and tell me which bits of the food in here are edible?" He pokes at a few paper bags and looks decidedly unsure about what he finds inside. 

"Oi," Nick says, leaning over the bannister. 

Louis looks back over his shoulder, and immediately goes pink, which is a little unusual. Usually he's so cheeky, but right now he looks almost shy, which is weird considering he was being a brat four seconds ago. 

"Sorry," Louis says, "Daddy."

"I should think so, too." Nick says. He gives himself a minute to take a few deep breaths. "You look pretty, little one."

Louis shuts the fridge door and turns around. The camisole falls to mid thigh, and is so pale and pink and almost fragile that Louis looks shy in it, the silk outline of his knickers a darker, duskier rose through the pale gauze. "Do I?" he asks, a little tentative. He fumbles with one of the straps. "I didn't know—I thought it might be—it's so pink and pretty."

Nick smiles at that. His pretty, pretty boy. He crosses the kitchen to where Louis is waiting for him, and strokes Louis's hair behind his ears. "It's perfect," he says softly. "My beautiful boy." He can't stop it from tumbling out of him, all of these endearments and feelings and need. 

"I've never worn pink before," Louis says, unsure. He looks down, and fiddles with the hem. "I just wanted to be pretty for you." His cheeks flush a darker pink. "Wanted to be your pretty girl, Daddy."

Nick strokes his fingers down Louis's cheeks. "You already are," he says, tilting Louis's chin up. He leans in, and presses a slow kiss to Louis's willing mouth. "So pretty, my love," he says. He kisses him again, and Louis is nervous and unsure and tentative and shy, and this is a side of Louis that Nick hasn't seen before. "Were you saying something about being hungry?"

"I didn't know what to eat," Louis says, blushing again. "I don't know what half of the stuff in there is."

Nick kisses his forehead. "Go and sit down, love." There are stools along the big counter in the middle of the kitchen; he helps Louis up on to one, and can't resist stroking the smooth length of his thigh, rucking the camisole up a little as he does, crooking his finger over the bulge in Louis's silk underwear. "Be a good girl and watch Daddy cook." He has a bit of a root through the fridge. "Do you like tuna?" 

"If it comes in a tin," Louis says. "Shall I get us some wine?" He's already hopping off the stool and going to find a bottle, ignoring Nick's earlier request that he sit still and be good.

There are two tuna steaks, and enough for a salad and a cheeseboard. "This is better than a tin of tuna," he says, getting out the tuna steaks and putting a pan on the stove. He makes up a salad as the steaks cook, and sets up a cheeseboard for afters too. When he turns around, Louis is perched by the kitchen table, wine glass in hand, the table set for two. 

"This week is fucking brilliant," Louis tells him, coming over with a glass of wine for him. 

"Little girls don't swear," Nick says, taking his glass of wine. He doesn't pretend not to see the way Louis's dick twitches, his erection a solid outline in his pretty underwear. He nudges Louis in the elbow as he checks to see if the tuna steaks are almost done. He suspects _rare_ might be a step too far with Louis. "But, just so you know, same. Absolutely the same. I'm so glad I met you."

"Who else could you dress up like a little doll?" Louis asks, but even though he's joking he still looks a little shy. 

"Pretty much nobody," Nick agrees, leaning in to kiss Louis's temple as he removes the tuna steaks from the heat. "Which is why you're perfect for me, Louis." He kisses him again. "Perfect."

"And you're the best, too," Louis tells him, flushing. "Never wanted a daddy before I met you."

Nick turns to bring him into his arms once the hob is off, and Louis ducks his head, so shy, and he's not just playing it up for Nick this time. He's blushing and sweet and nervous. Nick kisses his nose. "You're darling."

"Daddy," Louis murmurs, playing with the hem of his slip. Nick laughs a bit.

"Why so shy, darling?"

Louis squirms a bit. "'m not…"

"Uh huh," says Nick, deadpan. "Can't even look me in the eye."

Louis's helplessly defiant, so he lifts his eyes to Nick's at once, fiercely competitive. Nick loves him. "I just," Louis mumbles. "I just feel a bit. Weird."

"Weird?" Nick asks, curious and concerned. "Weird how?"

"It's so pink," Louis says, cheeks red again. "The other one was black. Not so, like, feminine, I suppose."

Nick hums thoughtfully. "Do you like it? That it's pink?"

Louis nods, looking ashamed. "It feels… It's so…soft. And pretty."

"It looks lovely on you, love," Nick tells him honestly. "It looks so lovely on you. You're the prettiest boy I've ever seen, and when and if you want to be, you can be my good girl."

"Yes, Daddy," Louis answers. He's hard in his knickers. Nick would like him to stay that way all bloody day. He kisses Louis's forehead.

"All right, love, it's time for lunch."

They eat at the table, their legs tangling together. Louis likes the steak the best of anything Nick's made him yet, and he actually clears his plate, even the salad. It's good to see, because he didn't eat very much yesterday, but Nick doesn't point it out. They talk about what they might do the rest of the week. Louis wants to go into town again to send his postcards, maybe tomorrow, and Nick wants to explore around outside a bit, and perhaps go to the posh clothes shop he always likes to visit when he comes here, because the winter line is in and as Nick Grimshaw he has rather a lot of clout. 

Louis also wants to go skiing, but he looks a bit doubtful when he suggests going today. Nick puts that down the constant snowfalls they've had since this morning; all the ski lifts are closed as a result. Still, it does mean that Nick really can't feel any sort of guilt about spending an entire week in the Alps inside a chalet and barely venturing out of doors. 

"You should write your postcards after lunch," Nick suggests. 

Louis goes a bit pink. "No," he says, looking down at his plate. He shrugs his shoulders. "I feel weird," he says, without looking up. "Like, different. Pretty. I don't know what to write that isn't this, and I can't write that, so." He looks up. "I'll do them tomorrow."

Nick leans over and laces his fingers into Louis's. He brings their joined hands up to his mouth and kisses Louis's knuckles. "You're lovely," he says. "How do you fancy drinking the rest of this bottle of wine and listening to music for a bit, instead? We can just, I don't know, hang out."

Nick so very rarely gets to just hang out. There's always something he has to do or somewhere he has to be or something he has to do later which reduces his time for just being in the here and now. 

Louis lights up. "Do you want to see this video I found on the internet of this guy basically climbing a radio mast with no safety net? It's fifteen minutes of him just going up and up this thing, and by the end the ground's miles away and he's in the clouds."

"No fucking way," Nick says. "There is no way I'm watching someone climb anything. I'll hyperventilate."

Louis pouts. "But, Daddy—"

"Little girls should listen to their daddies," Nick says, nudging Louis's chair closer to his. "I'm a giant scaredy cat when it comes to heights, and nobody wants to see me regurgitate my tuna all over the settee."

" _Fine_ ," Louis says. His dick is a delicious line in his pretty silk knickers. He gives up sitting on his seat and comes to sit in Nick's lap instead. He hides his face in the curve of Nick's shoulder and wraps his arms around Nick's neck. "Daddy," he whispers, "will you make me feel nice again? Later on?"

Nick is all of a sudden, hard again. Louis wriggles in his lap. "What happened to us just hanging out?" he asks, although it's mostly a rhetorical question. "There was going to be wine, and music, and—"

"I still want that," Louis says, mouth pressed to his ear, skin flushed a delicious shade of pink. "I just want to sit on your knee whilst we do it."

Nick runs his hand under Louis's pretty camisole, at the line of his knickers over the curve of his bum. "Fine," he says, pretending to roll his eyes. "We can do that."

Louis smiles at him then, a little tentative, a little shy, and Nick can't help but lean in and kiss him. 

There is wine, and music, and a fire in the fireplace, and Louis perched on Nick's knee on the sofa. Both of them are tipsy when Nick's mobile rings. It's his assistant, Margaret, and it's come in two seconds after a text message that just says _urgent_. Louis picks it up from the arm of the sofa and hands it to him.

"Here, Daddy."

"Thank you, sweetheart," Nick says, and he takes the call.

There's been some kind of blow up in marketing for a conference that's going to take place in February. His team has handled it, but wanted to let him know as he'd have several emails about it. Nick listens hazily, brow furrowed, his hand rubbing Louis's back. He blinks when Louis squirms and turns, manoeuvres himself around so that he's facing Nick, and he has a decidedly impish, too-innocent look on his face. He lifts both his hands to Nick's chest, tucks his bottom lip between his teeth and pinches Nick's nipples very gently.

Nick gives him a stern look, his dick twitching in his jeans, and Louis looks sweet as can be and pinches Nick's nipples again.

"That sounds reasonable," Nick says into the phone, though he has little idea as to what he's just agreed with. Sign off on something. It's probably fine. Louis scoots forward and hooks one arm around Nick's neck, and takes Nick's free hand with the other. He presses it to his own belly, and then his lacy chest, and then he brings it to his lips and takes Nick's index finger into his mouth. He closes his eyes and moans blissfully, loud enough that Nick's assistant falters at the other end of the phone. Nick clears his throat. "Go on, what did Aimee say to do?"

"I can call back," Margaret says. She sounds delighted. Nick is going to get teased about this for a very long time. He needs better staff. People who are _afraid_ of him. 

"No," Nick says, clapping his hand over Louis's mouth. "Now's fine." 

Louis laps at Nick's palm, innocence written all over his face. Monkey. Nick just rolls his eyes instead, laughing even as Louis is pulling away, crawling off Nick's lap to settle on his knees at Nick's feet instead. Louis flutters his eyelashes. He is a terror, an absolute _terror_ , and he is even more of a terror when Nick is having to make actual business decisions whilst his boyfriend is running his hands over his pretty pink camisole and pinching his nipples though the gauze. When his boyfriend his chewing on his lip and whining. When his boyfriend is cupping his dick through his camisole and his pretty knickers and groaning, loud enough that Margaret must surely be able to hear, and Nick is never going to hear the fucking end of this. Nick goes to put his hand over Louis's mouth again, and Louis goes quiet. It doesn't stop him lifting his camisole up and pushing down his knickers so that his dick is free, though. It doesn't stop him wrapping his fingers around his dick and starting to play with himself. 

It doesn't stop him rocking his hips up so that he's fucking his own fist, his other hand pinching at his nipples through the camisole, breathing hot and heavy against Nick's palm. 

He is a menace, an absolute menace, and Nick adores him. 

He does what he has to on the phone, and hopes that he hasn't accidentally agreed to selling off the entire media arm of his company, or agreeing to the takeover of that radio station that he's been toying with ever since he heard the owners were thinking of selling. He has a marvellous team of lawyers and associates and negotiators and accountants and financiers and a hundred other people who will all feed into decisions like those, and he's fairly sure he shouldn't be making any kind of decision with actual impact when Louis is around doing anything, let alone wanking himself off with his silk knickers trapped around his balls. 

Nick ends the call, and drops the phone down onto the sofa next to him. 

"Louis," he says softly. 

"Yes, Daddy?" Louis says, still playing with his dick. He looks so pink and so turned on and so pretty. Nick wants to ravish him. 

"Do you think it's time we tried out the cock cage, little one? Seeing as though you've been a very naughty boy for Daddy?"

Louis gets even harder, and goes even pinker, and his hand stutters to a stop. "Daddy—"

"I'll put one key round my neck and the other round your wrist," Nick says. "We absolutely don't have to, and if we do, you can stop it at any time."

Louis lets go of his dick, and pitches forward so that his cheek is pressed to Nick's knee. "Daddy," he says, and his voice catches. "I can still wear this, can't I?"

"You can, love," Nick tells him, hand to his hair. His heart's pounding. 

Louis's breathing so hard and all the blood in Nick's body is rushing between his legs. "Please, Daddy, I want to try it. Put me in it?"

Nick tugs him gently into a thorough, wet kiss, and he pulls Louis's knickers back up over his hard dick. "Upstairs to the bedroom, darling."

Louis stands up, wobbly-legged but very eager. He's still pinching at his nipples, and he reaches behind himself to tug his underwear out of the way so he can touch his hole. Nick smacks him lightly on the bum and Louis moans. They kiss all the way up to the third floor, and then Nick picks Louis up and carries him to the bed. 

"Stay there," Nick says, once he's spread Louis out on the duvet. "Pull your knickers down."

Louis does as he's told, lets his knickers slide down and off and opens his thighs. Nick walks to the case of toys and retrieves the simple metal cage he bought, and both its keys, and then walks back to the bed. Louis is playing with himself again, fist around his cock and pinching his nipples with his other hand. Nick puts the cage down next to them and knocks Louis's hand away from his dick and settles on his belly between his legs. Louis whines and Nick pushes Louis's camisole up, kissing his belly and the smooth skin where his pubic hair used to be, and then he swallows Louis down in one go.

Louis is so, so loud, crying out and squirming, pulling on Nick's hair and sobbing, " _Daddy_ ," and he's so turned on that he comes very fast and hard down Nick's throat. Nick keeps going, playing with Louis's hole with a fingertip until Louis's crying and he's released every last drop into Nick's mouth. He pulls off and kisses Louis's soft dick, and his inner thigh, and his tummy again.

"All right, sweetheart?" he asks.

Louis nods, looking dazed and red and wrung out in a good way. He fumbles on the duvet next to him and picks up the cage, handing it to Nick. "Here, Daddy."

Nick leans in and kisses his hip, and then trails his tongue down the thick, pale line of Louis's biggest scar. Louis trembles beneath him, losing his hands in Nick's hair, and Nick kisses his way across the line of his hips and then down to the base of his cock. He sits back on his heels, and then leans in to kiss Louis's mouth. "Darling," he says, and he means it, he means every single last breath and syllable and consonant and vowel of everything he's said this week so far, and more besides. He opens Louis's fist and presses a key into it. Before leaving London he'd had two gossamer-thin silver bracelets and necklaces sent over, big enough to slide the keys on and keep them close. He gives a bracelet to Louis, and Louis closes his hand around it and nods, once, twice. 

"Ready?" he asks, and Louis nods. 

"Yes, Daddy."

Nick unpins the cock ring from the metal frame that's going to go around Louis's dick, and then carefully opens the ring up, and closes it so that it's behind Louis's smooth balls. Then he slides on the metal cage, over Louis's dick, and fastens it to the little pin sticking out from the ring, joining the two parts together again. He hooks the padlock through the pin, and carefully presses it locked. 

He touches his mouth to the inside of Louis's thigh, and feels him tremble beneath his kiss. 

"Nick," Louis says, and his voice shakes. "Nick."

Nick looks up, and Louis is just staring down at his cock, at the shiny metal cage with his dick trapped inside, his knickers hanging off one ankle. He holds out the hand with the bracelet and the key in. 

"Will you put it on me?" he asks, a little shakily, and Nick is all fingers and thumbs as he fastens it closed around Louis's wrist. His own copy is round his neck, and for a moment, when he leans in, their keys bump together, nudging into one another and away again. 

Nick moves so that he's sitting with his back up against the pillows, and opens his arms. Louis goes easily, if a little slowly, and climbs into his lap, cheek pressed to Nick's shoulder. 

"Look at me," Louis says softly, after a minute of Nick just holding him, and kissing the top of his head. He hovers his hand over the cage, but doesn't touch. 

"I couldn't look away if I tried," Nick tells him, and he knows it's the most cheesy thing in the world right now, but he can't bring himself to care. His boyfriend is wearing a cock cage, and it's overwhelming. It's so, so overwhelming that he doesn't know what to do with himself other than just hold on. 

God it's so much, it's so _much_ , Louis doing this for him, and looking just as touched by it all and overwhelmed as Nick is. They stay still and quiet for a long time, Louis cradled in Nick's arms, before Louis lets out a breath and carefully touches himself. He's reverent about it, and his lip trembles a bit. He fingers over every bar, the key jingling quietly around his wrist. Nick watches him explore it, stroking his back and murmuring encouragement when Louis looks for it. He touches every bit of it, and then wraps his hand around it properly, and then lets go and wraps both his arms around Nick's neck.

He's trembling and holding on so tight, so Nick pulls him closer until Louis's pressed all along his front and his head is resting on Nick's chest.

"You're so beautiful, Louis. I love you so much," Nick whispers, heart pounding, hands shaking just a little. He can't believe he's found this boy.

"Love you too," Louis murmurs, turning his head to kiss Nick's chest. He hasn't taken his eyes off of his cock all wrapped in its cage and pressing against Nick's hip, but he lifts his head finally to kiss Nick, playing with the key around Nick's neck. Nick sweeps his hand down Louis's back, over the swell of his bum and back up, the camisole rumpling until he smooths it out again. 

They kiss for a long time and it feels so, so intimate. Nick feels like his chest is just open and Louis's right there, sinking inside him. Their lips are chapped when Louis pulls away to rest against him again, and Nick presses his mouth to the top of Louis's head. "Do you feel all right, love?"

Louis nods, his voice softer than it's ever been, pressed as close to Nick as he can get. "Feel good. Feel so pretty."

"Well, that's because you are," Nick says. He knows, how ridiculously cheesy he's being but he can't find a way to stop it. It's a cock cage, it shouldn't be _intimate_ , but it's by far the most intimate thing they've done together. He kisses him again. "Do you want to go downstairs and watch a film? Take a duvet? Eat Smarties and drink wine?"

"You're a million-million-squillionaire," Louis tells him, nestling closer, "and you want to eat Smarties under a duvet when you're on holiday?"

"No," Nick says, "I'm on holiday with _you_ and I want to eat Smarties under a duvet. It all seems perfectly reasonable to me. How do you feel about Twiglets?"

"There is literally no way on earth you've managed to get Smarties and Twiglets out to Switzerland," Louis says. "Didn't we buy Swiss chocolate yesterday? Surely we should be having that."

It is perfectly amazing how Louis manages to nestle closer with everything he says. Nick was already convinced there wasn't a breath of space between them two minutes ago, and yet, Louis is closer now than he was then. It's like physics is changing in front of him, and the only thing he can blame is Smarties. "We can have that," Nick says. "That and Smarties. There aren't any Twiglets, though. I was just gauging your reaction for when we go home again."

"Weirdo," Louis says, fondly, and kisses his jaw. "You ever done this before?"

"A cage? No, never. You're the only person I've ever wanted to, with. I've never even really thought about it before."

"I didn't even know what they were," Louis says. He fiddles with one of Nick's nipples. "You know I'm yours, right? I wouldn't do this for just anyone. The collar, too. It's just you. It's just for you."

Nick holds him tight, smiling like an idiot. "I know. I'd never do it with anyone else, either. Just you. Only you."

"Yours," Louis murmurs, gripping the key around Nick's neck. Nick rolls them, so they're facing each other on their sides and Nick can rub their noses together and kiss Louis again and again and again, running his fingers through Louis's hair and down over his collar. Nick is so, so in love, and he doesn't even know what to do with it.

They go down to the cinema room together, Louis carrying a duvet and Nick wrapped around him from behind. It takes ages to get down all the stairs, especially because they have to stop off in the kitchen for chocolate and can't bear to unwind from each other. When they finally make it, Nick brings Louis down to rest between his legs. Louis is so, so pretty in his sheer pink camisole and his shiny cock cage. Louis settles down primly, and pulls the grey duvet over their laps. Nick sets up a few films for them to watch from the chalet's relatively random media archive, _An Affair to Remember_ followed by _The Muppets Take Manhattan_ , and Louis laughs and turns his head to nose into Nick's neck.

It's cosy and intimate in the room, just the light from the TV and a lamp in the corner. Nick's arms slip around Louis's waist and he rubs over his belly, which is more soothing to him than it is to Louis, probably, and after about fifteen minutes Louis takes Nick's hand and leads it down between his legs, wraps Nick's long fingers around his skin-warmed cage.

Nick swallows hard and kisses Louis's neck and holds him closer, whispers "I love you," in Louis's ear and holds him just like that. He wonders if Louis knows how easy it would be to wind Nick around his finger. 

They stay like that for a long time, Nick with his hand around Louis's cage, holding him quiet and still and near. He breathes him in, nipping at the lace strap of his camisole with his teeth, nestling even closer together under the duvet as the film plays out. 

When Louis talks again, his voice is rough. "If you don't know what to do with me," he says, covering Nick's hand with his own and nodding towards the TV. "Do the decent thing and don't ship me off on a cruise for weeks. Just break up with me."

Nick sniffs. "If you ever choose to go on a cruise completely of your own volition, do me the favour of breaking up with me if you fall in love with Cary Grant, won't you?"

"That makes me Deborah Kerr," Louis says, slapping Nick's hand. "How come I don't get to be Cary Grant?"

"Because you'd be the worst playboy in the world," Nick kisses the back of his neck. "You'd hate it. You're not the love 'em and leave 'em type." His nose brushes Louis's throat as he tugs Louis a little closer. "Anyway, I'd go into a decline if I didn't have you. It'd be like them Victorians or whatever, going somewhere to quietly die of a broken heart."

"Don't say things like that," Louis says, shifting position so that he's facing Nick, his foot hooked over Nick's calf. He bumps his cock up against Nick's, and Nick is gratified to learn—although not surprised—that whilst Nick is hard, Louis is soft and flaccid in his cage. "No talking about dying or broken hearts or declines, all right? I'm decreeing it."

"Just like that?" Nick slides his hands into the small of Louis's back. "You're decreeing it?" He smiles, unable to help himself. Louis looks so fierce and serious and determined and beautiful, skin flushed and hair falling in his eyes, his camisole falling off one shoulder. 

"Just like that," Louis agrees, and he rubs his nose over Nick's. "Do you think we're going to analyse the Muppets, too? Make it about us?"

"Darling," Nick says, with a swagger, hands to Louis's hips. "Everything is _always_ about me."

Louis snorts, and smacks him on the shoulder. "I love you," he says. "You idiot."

"See?" says Nick, kissing Louis's cheek. "All about me."

Louis kisses him, and kisses him and kisses him, until Nick is breathless and very hard indeed against the press of Louis's cage. Louis reaches down to palm him in his small hand and Nick makes a small, pleased sound, and tucks his fingers into Louis's hair, pulling away to see his face.

"You don't have to, darling," he murmurs. "This isn't about that."

Louis kisses him again, and doesn't take his hand away. "I know that. I want to."

Before the end of the film Nick is stretched out lengthways on the sofa, stripped down to his pants, which are tugged down underneath his balls. Louis's between his legs, blowing him so nicely, his bum in the air and his camisole sliding up his back. Nick has his hand in Louis's hair, just stroking it sweetly, and every time Louis bobs his head up he can see Louis's cock, soft and caged and beautiful, all locked up, and Nick grips the key around his neck and squeezes.

It lasts for ages, and Louis's got so good with his mouth. When Nick comes it's between one breath and the next, Louis's name on his lips, and it's lazy and intense and cathartic and oddly soothing. Louis swallows every last bit and sucks Nick through it, and when Nick's finished Louis tucks him back into his pants and crawls up his body, pink-cheeked and smiling and shy.

"Nick," Louis murmurs, and kisses him. Nick licks the taste of himself out of Louis's mouth. Louis lies down on top of him, nestled in close, forehead tucked into Nick's neck, and Nick rubs his back, highly aware of Louis's cage pressing into his thigh. "I want to keep it on until we go to bed."

Nick holds him as tightly as he can, closing his eyes and breathing Louis in. "Of course, love. Whatever you like."

Louis is quiet for the rest of the afternoon. He keeps close to Nick's side, even going with him to the kitchen when he goes to make them tea. The only time he disappears from Nick's side is when he goes upstairs to the loo, and when he comes down again he's in Nick's old jumper again, and a pair of socks. He curls into Nick's side as Nick gets some of the chocolate out that they bought yesterday, and brings it back into the cinema room with their tea. He nestles into Nick as they put another film on, and Nick strokes his hand under Louis's jumper, fingertips tracing the lines of the pale scars in the small of Louis's back. 

Their tea's gone cold when Louis talks again. "It was a belt," he says, as Nick strokes his fingers over the scars. "A studded belt and a belt buckle."

Nick stills his fingers. "Louis," he says, softly, because there are such a lot of them, scar after scar after scar, all over his back and thighs, and it isn't like Nick hasn't considered what put those scars there, but the very idea of someone beating Louis so badly that he scarred even once, let alone the many, many times that the scars are proof of, is enough to push Nick to the edge. 

"Don't stop touching me," Louis instructs, without looking away from the giant TV screen. "Please don't stop touching me."

Nick touches him again, concentrating on making sure his fingers don't shake. He doesn't ask about the scar on Louis's hip, but he can't help it; after a few minutes he grazes his touch over the thicker, heavier, more dangerous scar. 

"A knife," Louis tells him, still not looking away from the screen. "That one's a knife. And now you know it all."

He doesn't know it all. He barely knows any of it. He strokes Louis's hip for a little longer before sliding his hand down to cup Louis's dick through the little metal cage. He presses his mouth to Louis's collar, and cups his dick. "Mine," he says, quietly. "You're mine, love. And you're safe."

Nick doesn't move his hand away, and they stay like that, pressed together and not saying anything, for the longest time. 

When they go to bed that night, Nick lets Louis unlock the cage, to make sure that he knows that he can and that he knows how to get if off whenever he wants. Louis lets out a shuddery sigh when his cock is released, light imprints from the bars in his skin, and he swells up half hard immediately, cupping himself. Nick helps him out of his jumper and Louis smiles, kissing Nick gently and tugging Nick's underwear down and off.

"Do you want to leave the lights on, babe?" Nick asks. He's wide awake, mind whirling with what Louis's told him, but Louis looks calm and sleepy, as well he should after two nights' terrible sleep.

"Not all of them," says Louis, blushing. He's so embarrassed and Nick doesn't know how to make it better. "Would never sleep that way."

He settles on the hallway light and the bathroom light, and turns off the lamp himself when they crawl underneath the duvet. Nick gathers Louis close, kissing his shoulder and fingering helplessly over the scars on his back. Louis yawns and hums quietly, tells Nick he loves him and thanks him for today, for the cage and how it made him feel. Nick hugs him close, and strokes his hair until he falls asleep.

A belt buckle. A belt buckle and a _knife_. They're all old scars, long healed over. How old was he when it happened? Did it happen more than once? Who was it? He talks about his mum and sisters frequently, but he's made no mention of his dad. It seems the most logical conclusion, but Nick's wary to jump to it. All he knows for sure is that Louis, his Louis, was _hit with the buckle end of a belt_ , beaten so badly that it's left him scarred in so many ways. 

Nick doesn't fall asleep for a long time, and when he finally he does he comes awake gasping and frightened from a dream about Louis, small and bleeding, being taken away from him.

"Nick?" Louis asks, still more than half asleep. "You okay?"

Nick's heart is pounding, and he's sweating, but he does his best to still his rapid breathing. "Totally fine, love," he says. "Dreamt I was being forced to eat Chicken McNuggets whilst wearing a sweatband."

Louis wraps himself around Nick and hooks his foot over his. "You're such an idiot," he says, words slurring together. "I love McNuggets."

He's asleep again even before he's finished speaking, and Nick's left wrapping his arms around him and making sure the duvet is pulled up over their shoulders. He hopes that Louis can't hear the rapid pounding of his heart, the fear that still trembles across his skin at the thought of losing him, of someone hurting him. 

It's a long, long time before he falls asleep again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's a beautiful, glorious menace, and he's the best thing that's ever happened to Nick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to **Ashley** , for her wonderful, super-fast betas, and to **pillarboxred** for her help, and to my lovely, anonymous friend who wrote the majority of this with me back in 2014. Writing this over email with you was a joy. I hope I've finished it off in a way in which you would have enjoyed.
> 
> The chalet really does exist, and at £50,000 to rent for a week, it's cheap at the price (!!!). We obviously made up most of the layout, but none of the facilities, and I'm only really adding this in because apparently being super rich is pretty amazing? Who knew. We did save pictures but I'm buggered if I can find them now. 
> 
> To celebrate the end of this story, here's an oldie, but a goodie: [a three minute video of a tattooed dude bathing a hedgehog and brushing his spines with a toothbrush](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0NrIatqy5w). You're welcome. 
> 
> Any errors remain firmly my own.

~*~

Nick wakes up to Louis straddling him. 

"Hello," Louis says, leaning in to kiss Nick. "Wake up so we can have sex."

"You're a monster," Nick says, sleepily trying to push him away. "I'm dreaming about kittens."

Louis leans in and laps at his nipple. "Call me kitten instead," he says, and pokes him in the side. "Don't you want to have sex?"

Nick is already pretty hard, mostly because Louis is rubbing his dick over Nick's and looking mournfully hopeful. 

"There is never a time when I don't want to have sex with you, kitten," Nick says, cheerfully noting the way Louis's dick twitches at _kitten_ , "but let me up so I can clean my teeth first. I'm fairly sure a flamingo died in my mouth last night, and nobody wants that alongside a morning hard-on."

Louis rolls his eyes, but he dutifully clambers off Nick and heads for the bathroom himself. They clean their teeth standing next to each other at the bathroom counter, bumping hips and grinning around their toothbrushes. Nick is so ridiculously charmed by his boyfriend that he doesn't know what to do with himself. When Louis spits his toothpaste out, he sticks his tongue out at Nick, and waggles it about. It's disgusting. Nick's in love. 

"So," Louis says, once they've both swilled a goodly amount of Listerine and spat it out, morning-fresh. "Now can we have sex?"

"You're a menace," Nick says. "How do you want it?"

Louis stands up on his tip-toes and wraps his arms around Nick's neck. "No games," he says, kissing the corner of Nick's mouth. "Nothing but you and me," he goes on, kissing the other corner of Nick's mouth. He kisses his jaw. Nick kisses him back, soft and slow. "I really liked it when you fucked between my thighs," Louis goes on. "I'd like to do that again. But I just want you to fuck me, too. So, whichever."

Nick laughs at that. "You're a pest," he says. "I love you." 

"Want you to fuck me, Nicholas," Louis sing-songs, kissing Nick again. He's smiling and impish and turned on, his lovely naked boy.

"Going to fuck you," Nick promises, steering them out of the bathroom and toward the bed. They don't move fast, too caught up in each other, kissing and touching. Louis's hands slide all over Nick's back, grabbing his arse and squeezing, and Nick tickles Louis's sides a bit to make him laugh breathlessly into his mouth.

The fall onto the bed in a tangle, and Nick gropes around for a new tube of lube in the drawer because they've run out of the first one, while Louis all but climbs him, leaving marks all along his chest and tummy and hips. He wraps his hand around Nick's hard cock and just holds him, mouthing at his pubic bone. Nick buries his fingers in Louis's hair and drops the lube onto the bed.

"Up here, little heathen, or this'll be over far too fast," he says, tugging on Louis's hair.

Louis leaves a huge, dark bruise right there on Nick's lower abdomen before he crawls back up Nick's body. "Love your curls," he says, kissing Nick's jaw and stroking his hair. "I've always been mad for curls but yours are extra good."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Nick sighs, and Louis grins and squeezes Nick's hip. Nick strokes his hands down Louis's back. "I like your smile."

Louis immediately tries and fails to stop smiling. "I like your smell. And the way you talk."

"Your voice," Nick murmurs, kissing him, rolling them over so he's on top and Louis is spread out underneath him, hair splashed over the sunlit pillow. "Your hands." He kisses each of them. "Even your feet."

"The way you make me laugh," says Louis, voice a bit quieter. He wraps his legs around Nick's waist and rocks his hips up lazily, threading his fingers into Nick's curls. "How much you love your dog."

"How clever you are; it keeps me on my toes. Your Vans and your t-shirts with holes in them."

Louis cups Nick's cheek. "The way you joke about your money all the time but secretly are a bit worried that it's all you have to offer." Nick's breath catches and he blinks, embarrassed, and Louis smiles up at him softly and kisses him on the lips. "It's not. Not even a little. You've got no idea how great you are."

"Louis—"

"No, shut it," Louis says, and his eyes are bright as he tugs him in and kisses him again, sliding his hand down between them to cup Nick's cock in his hand. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Nick. I wanted to say it, I don't know— we don't really say that. But it's true. I know we haven't exactly known each other long—"

Nick strokes the pad of his thumb over Louis's cheek. He rocks down into Louis's hand, but Louis makes no move to tighten his grip, and Nick doesn't make an effort to speed it up. "I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you." He's talking like something out of a terrible romantic film; he doesn't care. Right now the world feels like it's just the two of them, focus pinpointed down to him and Louis, and the rest of the world's closed away, elsewhere, somewhere away from here. Somewhere away from them. He wants them to just have this stupid, ridiculous moment of honesty, and fuck the rest of the world. "I think you're brilliant. Even your terrible cooking skills. How great you are. How brave you are."

"Nicholas."

Nick shakes his head. "It's not pity, Lou. It's never pity. I'm in awe of your resilience. I think you're brilliant."

"Shut up," Louis says. "Or else I'll just start going on about how thoughtful you are, and neither of us want that." He's blushing, ducking his gaze away from Nick's, and Nick does the only thing he can do: he cups Louis's face in his hand and kisses him. He kisses him as he's running the pad of his thumbs over Louis's nipples, and as he's stroking his smooth armpits, down over his ribs and settling over his hips. He brushes down over Louis's scar— _his knife wound_ , Nick's brain supplies, and he winces at the thought of what that must have felt like—and down over Louis's pubic bone to stroke at his dick. 

"I want to fuck you," he says, softly, and he slides his hand between Louis's legs, and brushes his fingertips over Louis's hole. "Can I, love?"

Louis bites at his lip. "Yes, please," he says, and he opens his legs wider for Nick, and all Nick can do is kiss him again, over and over. 

Louis helps get Nick's fingers slick, then Nick opens him up so, so slowly, kissing him again the whole time. Nick's head is spinning, and he can't tear his eyes off the boy beneath him, rolling into every thrust of Nick's fingers, touching as much of Nick as he can reach. He mewls into Nick's mouth at the stretch of a third finger, and tilts his head back, eyes barely open, breathing Nick's name. He's sweaty and flushed, lips swollen and red, eyelashes pretty on his cheeks. Nick kisses Louis's neck, and sucks a love bite into the skin just beside the hollow of his throat. He thumbs over Louis's nipple and ducks his head to take it in his mouth.

Louis's fingers tangle in Nick's hair and he moans, vocal as always. "Want you to fuck me," he pants, clenching tight around Nick's fingers. His cock is stiff against Nick's stomach and Nick ruts down just to relieve the pressure a bit. "Please, Nick."

Nick withdraws his fingers. Louis's so open now, and Nick kisses him as he slicks his cock up. Louis's legs are splayed open and Nick lines up and presses in, sinks in slow and so deep in one long push, until he's buried to the root and the pleasure is so acute he loses his breath. Louis's so tight and so hot, and Nick feels overwhelmed just looking at the pleasure on his face. Louis's legs wrap around him, heels digging into Nick's bum, and he loops his arms around Nick's neck.

"Stay like this," he breathes, a little whimper spilling past his lips. "God, fuck, Nick, stay in me just like this for a second."

"Anything," Nick tells him, and he kisses the corner of Louis's mouth. He kisses his cheek, then his temple, then his hair, and Louis breathes out, long and low, and tips his head back on the pillows as Nick kisses his throat, moving back up to kiss him again, properly this time. Louis licks into his mouth, hands coming to rest on Nick's hips, stroking down over his arse to brush at Nick's hole. 

Nick can't help it. He bucks forward, and Louis laughs into his kiss, moving his hand away and shifting, locking his feet back around Nick's waist. "Now you can move," he says, and Nick can't help but smile back at him, laughing at the way Louis's laughing up at him, eyes shining. 

"Right, so now I can move," he says, and he starts to, fucking in so slowly that Louis's ragged exhale of breath is the only sound in the room. He fucks him so slowly that Louis just wraps his arms around Nick's neck and looks up at him, eyes bright. He reacts to every tiny press forward Nick makes, every fragmented movement resulting in his breath catching or the kind of drawn-out whine that Nick never, ever wants to forget. He doesn't speed up, resting on his elbows either side of Louis's face, and every time he moves all he can think is, _I love you_. 

Louis rolls his hips up to meet him, and Nick finds he doesn't want to speed it up. He wants this to last and last, even though there's sweat gathering in the small of his back and on his brow, and on Louis's too. He kisses him, kisses his ragged, hitched breaths away from him, tells him he loves him with every gentle kiss. 

It's never been like this. 

Louis's breath keeps catching in his throat, and he closes his eyes when Nick shifts his weight onto one elbow and sweeps his hand down to the scar at Louis's hip. Nick kisses his chin, his neck, nuzzles at his cheek just by his ear and whispers, "I love you," as he presses into him.

Louis's fingernails dig into his back and he rolls his hips up, moving a bit faster now. "Love you, God, Nick, I love you," he murmurs, and Nick catches his mouth in a kiss again. "God, love you fucking me, love you inside me."

Nick groans and fucks into him as deep as he can, as close as he can. Louis's trembling and right on the cusp and Nick shoves in deep and circles his hips and Louis comes with a soft, gorgeous cry. The blissed out look on his face and the impossibly tight clench of his arse takes Nick right over with him. He closes his mouth over the throbbing pulse in Louis's throat and comes so fast and so hard, the pleasure sweeping through him almost painfully acute. It feels like it lasts forever, incredibly intense in a way it hasn't been before. It's just so beautifully _intimate_ , and Nick's never had that before. Not before Louis.

When he comes back to Earth their mouths are touching, and Louis is boneless underneath him, stroking Nick's hair. Nick can't even speak. "Mmmmm," he manages, still trembling a bit. Louis laughs breathlessly and makes a quiet, unhappy noise when Nick carefully pulls out. 

"That was…" Louis trails off, fingertips on Nick's cheek.

Nick smiles and takes his hand, kissing his palm. "Yeah," he agrees. There aren't really words for it. He eases onto his side and pulls Louis into him, wanting him close. He thinks he might _always_ want Louis close.

"So, uh," Louis says. "Good morning. And all that."

Nick snorts, pulling Louis closer, and then somehow Louis ends up on top of him, and one kiss turns into two, turns into ages and ages of lazy kisses, Nick touching him everywhere. Louis responds in kind, and it's only later, when Louis rolls off him, breathless, that Nick realises it's been a good half hour. His mouth is starting to feel numb. 

"What do you want to do today?" he asks, holding out an arm so that Louis can come closer. It's still snowing outside, and he feels almost awkward about the intimacy of their morning. Louis cuddles into his side. 

"Can we make snowmen if the weather's this shit?" Louis asks, lazily playing with one of Nick's nipples. Nick's mostly hard, but it's not urgent. He still feels buoyed up from earlier, like the long reach of his orgasm hasn't played out yet. 

"We can try," Nick says, although falling snow doesn't sound like his idea of a good time. He likes snow when it's on the ground, but when it's on his nose and his eyelashes he's hard pressed to enjoy it, whatever the song might say. 

"What about shopping?" Louis asks. "Can we do that if it's snowing?"

"No idea," Nick says. "I'll call for a car and see."

"Good-oh," Louis says. "I'll write some of my postcards first."

They shower before breakfast, getting dressed properly for the first time in a while, and then they eat breakfast on the table looking out onto the terrace, Nick catching up with the world on his iPad, Louis getting jam on his postcards and not noticing when Nick tops up his coffee cup. A car arrives to take them into the little town a bit later on, and they wander through the mostly deserted snowy streets, hand in hand, buying up Christmas decorations and chocolate and gifts to take home. Louis wants to get things for each of his sisters, and he insists on paying himself, even though Nick isn't stupid, and he can see the amount of money Louis has in his wallet. Nick shouts them both lunch instead, finding a quiet little restaurant set back from the main streets, and Louis tells Nick all of the good and bad things about his uni course and how he wishes being a teacher didn't involve this much learning, whilst Nick tops them up with wine and holds Louis's hand over the table top. There's dessert, and then there are huge mugs of hot chocolate, sitting in the bar with their feet tangled up under the table. 

They go to the supermarket before the car picks them up, and Nick lets Louis point out all the things he likes, and then Nick tries to think of a way to put them all together in some kind of recipe that won't have Louis running in horror. 

He doesn't care, though. He'd do all of it and more. This boy. This boy. 

When they get back to the chalet, Louis is no help whatsoever in putting away their shopping. 

"You obviously have obsessive compulsive tendencies," Louis tells him, perching on a stool at the kitchen island and folding his hands under his chin, elbows on the counter. "I wouldn't want to like, mess up your system."

Nick lobs an empty shopping bag at him, but doesn't otherwise protest. He _does_ have a system, and Louis would absolutely muck it up. It doesn't take him long to put everything away anyway, and as he finishes up Louis goes to stand by the front door to pull on his coat and gloves and boots and all the things he'd just taken off.

"What're you doing?" Nick asks. He'd like some wine. It seems like a good time of day for wine.

"We're going outside," Louis says firmly. It's still snowing like mad, and it’s got even worse since they returned from shopping.

"Are we?" Nick asks, frowning. He's not much of a fan of snow. It's cold and wet and there's no wine.

"We are," says Louis, firmly, and he puts on a woolly hat with a bobble on the end. He's so cute Nick just wants to pick him up and carry him off into the sunset. "You promised. I want to build a snowman."

Nick groans theatrically. "We're not kids, love."

"C'mon, we never get snow in London. I want to build a proper snowman and take pictures. If you want to stay in here all by yourself, then that's just fine." He's a haughty little brat, is what he is, and Nick loves him. Of course he's going to join him.

It's freezing outside, but within approximately five seconds of the door closing Louis lobs a snowball at Nick and hits him square in the chest. Nick narrows his eyes at him. The snow fight that follows is the most intense workout Nick's had in months, and it ends with Louis tackling him into the snow. They slide a few feet and they're both red faced and laughing, sweaty in their coats even though their teeth are chattering. They roll over and over, squabbling for purchase and both of them too slippery in their clothes to get it until finally Louis pins Nick to the ground, sitting astride him with his hands on Nick’s shoulders.

"Ha! Gotcha."

Nick wraps his hands around Louis's wrists. "You have," he says, and Louis grins down at him, snow caught in his hat and his coat and his eyelashes and his nose. He's rosy cheeked and laughing, and Nick loves him. He loves him so much it hurts. 

"You're such a sap," Louis says, but he sounds delighted. 

"Yep," Nick agrees, and he gives it a moment for Louis to relax before he flips them over, pinning Louis's arms above his head. "Now who's got who, huh?" 

"I let that happen," Louis says, breathless. He tilts his chin up. "Daddy."

It's cold and it's wet and Nick hates snow, but he doesn't hate this. He couldn't. He leans in and kisses Louis, his kiss cold and wet and lovely, all the same. "Are you bored of the snow, yet?"

"Never," Louis says, "but we can call this half time and come back out later. Call it nil-nil."

"Or one-nil to me," Nick points out, since he's the one pinning Louis to the ground. His knees are all wet and he's starting to shiver. 

"Whatever," Louis says, haughtily. "Can we have sex yet?"

"You gorgeous boy," Nick says. "What am I going to do with you?"

Louis waggles his eyebrows. They're only just peeping out from under his bobble hat. "There are skirts in that suitcase, aren't there, Daddy?"

There are. Teeny tiny pleated ones, that will barely cover Louis's bum. "There might be," he says. "Why, would you like one?"

Louis grins. "Yes, please. And a plug. I'd like a plug."

"Cheeky," Nick says, but he's already awkwardly clambering to his feet and holding his hands out for Louis. Louis bounds up, and plasters himself to Nick's back, demanding a piggy back. The snow's falling heavily now, the visibility lessening with every second. Luckily they're not that far from the door, and they stumble inside, slipping and sliding, tumbling into the hall and shaking off the snow. 

Nick gets the door closed behind them quickly, shivering. He's wet through. He unzips his ski jacket with thick, damp fingers, dropping them on the floor where he stands, Louis following suit. There's a bathroom on the ground floor that they haven't made use of yet, with a huge sunken bath that Nick fancies investigating. There's a huge range of bubble baths and bath products, and once he's naked and wrapped in a robe, he lobs a selection in the direction of the running water, even as Louis is messing with the sound system. 

His skin is red and damp and cold, and he can't help it, he gets in the bath as soon he can. When Louis comes over a minute later, he settles down comfortably into the V of Nick's legs, and shuffles back.

"Wash my hair, Daddy," Louis demands. 

"Menace," Nick says, and wraps his arms around Louis's waist instead. "Shut up and get warm for a minute, okay? Then I'll look after you."

Louis makes a grumbly kind of a noise, but he doesn't push it. He ends up resting his cheek against Nick's shoulder instead, nose pressed to Nick's neck. The stereo's playing The xx. It's nice, and peaceful, and Nick starts to feel warm on the inside again, unthawing gently in the warmth of the bath, Louis humming gently and playing with his nipple. 

"Stop that," says Nick, amused, though he does take Louis's hand away from his chest. "Getting ahead of yourself."

"Feels good," Louis tells him, sighing softly. He's warm and soft and wet and it smells like lavender and vanilla. Nick reaches for one of the cream-coloured flannels folded on the ledge and dips it into the water. 

"Hand me that soap, mm?" he asks. Louis makes a big production of having to sit up and reach to the other side of the bathtub. He hands it to Nick and flops back against his chest again, upsetting the water. Nick kisses his neck and his hair, and pours honey-smelling gel onto the flannel.

He starts with Louis's back, making him sit up to so he can get every inch, and then he adds more soap and hands it to Louis so he can get his legs while Nick rinses his back free of suds. Louis takes his precious time, washing between each toe, humming along to the music, all his weight on Nick so he can lift each leg out of the water. It's pretty to watch, in any case, Louis touching his own smooth skin.

"Good boy," Nick praises when Louis hands it back, and Louis flushes pink and rolls his eyes, and kisses Nick sweetly on the mouth before turning round again. Nick can't stop smiling. He kisses at Louis's shoulders as he adds more soap to the flannel, and he takes a very, very long time on Louis's chest and arms and tummy. Louis loves the attention, and he's half-hard under the water. Nick soaps up one arm and rinses it, and then the other, and then he spends an inordinate amount of time on Louis's smooth armpits.

Louis's ticklish, and he squirms, but Nick strokes there over and over until he relaxes and opens his legs up a bit. Nick pinches his nipple with his free hand and Louis groans weakly. "Daddy."

"Need to get you all clean, don't we?" Nick says, getting hard himself against Louis's back. He drags the flannel down Louis's chest to his lovely cock, all thick and hard in the water and Louis keens quietly and bends his knees, so Nick rubs the flannel back of his hole, too, again and again until Louis's breathless.

" _Daddy_ ," Louis says again, playing with his nipples. 

"Aren't you the prettiest, huh?" Nick says, watching Louis play with his nipples. "You're so pretty, my love." He slides his hand down to cup Louis's smooth balls, and Louis murmurs, soft and excited, shifting so that he can rub his cheek against Nick's chest.

"Daddy," Louis says. "I'm all hard. Is it—is it naughty?"

Nick gets harder, and strokes his hand over Louis's tummy. He nips his teeth into Louis's throat. God, he loves it when Louis plays this game. His dick slides into the crease of Louis's arse, sliding over Louis's hole. Louis squirms back against him, delicious and wanton and warm against his chest. "It's not naughty, darling. Do you want Daddy to make you feel nice?"

"Yes, please, Daddy," Louis says, and he slides his fingers into Nick's. 

Nick brings Louis's hand up to his mouth to kiss his knuckles. "How about we just make the rest of the day about you, love? I could look after you all day, baby. Dress you up, sweetheart? Let you pick one of your skirts? How about that? Make you come over and over, Lou."

Louis snuggles closer. "Love you, Daddy."

Nick kisses his hand again, and then wraps his arms around him in a hug. "Love you too."

They spend a bit of time washing each other’s hair and getting Nick clean too, before finally getting out of the bath. Nick dries Louis off in a big fluffy towel and Louis nestles into his arms all wrapped up in it, clingy and sweet. They kiss there in the bathroom for a very long time, Nick still dripping wet, before Nick pulls back because he's starting to get cold.

"Go and pick out something to wear, darling," he murmurs.

"Yes, Daddy," says Louis, rocking up onto his toes to kiss Nick's nose before darting out, still in his towel.

Nick dries himself off and hangs his towel up to dry and walks up the stairs and into the bedroom to find Louis in snug red knickers and a tight white t-shirt, digging through the case of toys and fun things Nick brought for them to play with. Nick’s already hard, and he would love to just bend Louis over the edge of the bed right here, pull his knickers aside, finger him open and then fuck him. Instead he pulls on a pair of boxers and sits on the bed. "Find one you like?"

"This one," says Louis, pulling one out. It's teeny tiny and pleated, charcoal grey. "Will it fit?"

"Should do," says Nick. "Try it on and let's see."

It fits beautifully. It's a bit loose on the hips, maybe, and so short Louis's bum is just barely covered when he stands up straight. It rests on his thighs and the front makes his bulge obvious even though it's not very tight there. Nick palms himself conspicuously. "Beautiful, sweetheart. There should be a few pairs of socks in there, too, why don't you put some on?"

Louis lifts an imperious eyebrow, but he does as he's told. He comes back up with two striped knee-high socks with anchors at the top. "Hipster," he tells Nick, and sits down to pull them on. It's not very lady like, legs spread wide as he does it, but Nick wouldn't have it any other way. It's obscenely hot once they're on, and Louis stands up again, in his skirt and socks and little t-shirt, looking embarrassed and turned on.

Nick loves this boy. He really loves this boy. 

"Well, then, Daddy?" Louis says, shyly. "Do I look nice?"

Nick reaches out and runs his finger down Louis's side, down over the cotton of his shirt and over the waistband of his skirt. "You look lovely, Louis." He cups Louis's bum in his hand, pulling him in. He squeezes, kneading through the wool of the tiny skirt. 

Louis blushes a rosy shade of pink. "Am I your pretty girl, Daddy?"

Nick gets suddenly, delightfully hard. He tugs Louis down onto his lap, and strokes his thigh. "You are, baby," he says. "You're Daddy's pretty girl." 

Louis is delightfully playful like this, shyly hiding his face in Nick's shoulder and tucking his knees up against Nick's. "Can we go downstairs in front of the fire?" He kisses Nick's cheek, and whispers in his ear. "If I'm good, Daddy, can I have my plug?"

"You can pick one," Nick tells him, cupping Louis's dick, sneaking his hand under his skirt to caress him through his red underwear. "Would you like that?"

Louis is on his knees in a moment, going through the suitcase. He wriggles his bum in the air, cheeky monkey. Nick can see his balls through the pretty red underwear, his dick outlined through his legs. The over the knee socks cling to his thighs, and Nick slaps Louis gently on the bum. 

"Menace," he says, when Louis shifts back against his hand, looking back over his shoulder with flushed cheeks and a gleam in his eye. "You're an absolute menace."

"A very pretty menace," Louis says, wriggling. He holds up a medium sized pink plug. 

Nick wants to get him a glass one, because he's seen the most beautiful ones on the internet, and he wants Louis to have the prettiest things. "Nice choice," he says. "Pick some lube, sweetheart, and we'll go and sit in front of the fire with a blanket."

Louis comes back with strawberry flavoured lube and a twinkle in his eye. 

"Menace," Nick says again, and cups Louis's face to kiss him.

There are hundreds of blankets to choose from. Louis picks the duvet from one of the bedrooms on the first floor, and Nick bundles it up and follows Louis down the stairs. He's so hot in his little skirt, which flips up a bit with every step he takes on the way down.

"I'll pour wine," says Louis, flouncing off to the kitchen.

"White," Nick requests, ignoring the face Louis makes in response. He can't seem to stop smiling, but Louis doesn't need to know that. There's a plush rug in front of the fireplace, but after Nick starts the fire he settles down on the sofa. They can still feel the heat from the flames easily, and there's a table to put their glasses on. Louis comes back with two glasses in hand, and Nick takes one and pats his lap with his free hand. "Here, sweetheart, on my knee."

Louis flushes red and settles down on Nick's knee just as he was asked. Nick loops an arm around his waist and sips at his wine. It's dry, and very good. Louis drinks half of his down far too fast and reaches over to set it on the table before settling again, snuggling close to Nick. "So pretty here, Daddy," he murmurs, nosing at Nick's neck. He rests his cheek against Nick's shoulder.

"Not as pretty as you," Nick tells him. He sets his glass down next to Louis's and rests his hand on Louis's thigh. Louis hums, quiet and aroused, and opens his legs a bit. Nick's a horrible tease, though, and they sit there in the quiet sharing kisses for a long time before Nick strokes his palm further up Louis's thigh. The skirt is so short that it's hardly touching Louis's legs, and Nick can see a peek of red between them, but the pleats stretch right over Louis's cock and his arse is warm and soft on Nick's lap. Louis strokes Nick's chest, smoothing the hair there, and Nick just keeps on touching Louis's inner thigh. "So pretty, sweet girl. Daddy's good girl."

Louis's breath catches in his throat. "Daddy," he whispers, hiding his face in Nick's neck.

"Makes you feel good when I call you that, doesn't it?" Nick asks him, revelling in it. Louis's just so lovely. "Makes you feel so nice, and so pretty. You're so pretty, darling."

"I really like it," Louis confides. "Not all the time, but sometimes. Now."

"I like it too," Nick agrees. "Sometimes."

"Like now," Louis says, and he shifts, turning so that he's straddling Nick's lap. He tilts his chin up, eyes teasing, and he licks at the corner of Nick's mouth. 

"Cheeky," Nick says, stroking his knuckle over the inside of Louis's smooth thigh. Louis's skirt is all tented up over his cock, and it's the prettiest, hottest thing that Nick can remember seeing, at least in the last few hours. There's been a lot to choose between, this week. 

"Daddy," Louis whines, trying to rock down against Nick's thigh. "I'm all hard."

"I know," Nick agrees, and he kisses him, deliberately slow, mouth soft against Louis's. Louis whimpers, and just when Nick's sure that Louis is turned on enough, he tucks his fingers into the elastic of Louis's knickers, stretching them out so that he can stroke at Louis's balls. 

"Nick," Louis begs. "Daddy, please. Touch me."

"I am touching you, little one," Nick says, continuing to tease Louis with just the tips of his fingers. "Or do you want more?"

" _More_." Louis is adamant, and determined, and very pink. 

"Let's pull your knickers down, then," Nick says. "Naughty little boys and girls need to pull their knickers down."

Louis has to clamber off his lap to do that, kneeling on the sofa next to him, breathlessly pushing his knickers down to mid thigh. He's desperate and the knickers are all wet where Louis's leaked, the red cotton stretched between his thighs. "Like this?"

"Like that," Nick agrees. "Do you want to play with yourself, or do you want Daddy to?"

"Me," is all Louis gets out, and he balances himself with one hand on Nick's shoulder and slips his other hand around his dick. He's so hard and flushed and pretty, small hand pumping his thick cock, skirt shifting so Nick just gets glances when it's uncovered. It's so fucking hot, watching Louis touch himself under his skirt. Nick slides his hands up and down Louis's sides, face tucked into Louis's neck, leaving a string of love bites.

Louis lifts himself up a bit, thighs straining, red knickers stretched out. He takes one of Nick's hands and laces their fingers together and Nick shifts to help him balance, kissing Louis's fingers. "Daddy, if I keep going like this I'll come all over you."

Nick jolts, sudden heat striking through him so hard and unexpected it rips a moan out of him. He tugs Louis in, sinking his teeth into Louis's neck and Louis hisses out a breathy laugh. "Like that idea, then?"

"Don't be cheeky," Nick says, but he's already tugging his boxers down to his knees and spreading his legs. He nudges Louis's legs open even wider, so Nick can see even more of him. Louis whines and wanks himself faster, needier, fucking into his hand. He points his dick right over Nick's cock and balls and clutches Nick's hand tight.

"Gonna come, Daddy," he gasps. "Gonna get you all messy."

Nick slides his free hand down Louis's back and bum to the back of his thigh, and right back up underneath the skirt. He squeezes Louis's arse and dips his hand into the crease to snub his fingertips over Louis's hole, and Louis comes with a wrecked sob, face screwing up in pleasure and his whole body seizing up.

He comes all over Nick's dick, and the flat plain of his stomach, and Nick is so desperately, ridiculously turned on he doesn't know what to do with himself. He moans, hips rocking up, hand bumping into Louis's, and Louis is wide-eyed and breathless. 

"Nick—" he says, but Nick is already wrapping his hand around his dick, using Louis's come as lube, and he's going to come. He's going to come so fucking quickly, because Louis came all over him, hot and desperate, and he loves it. He _loves it_. 

"Let me," Louis says, pushing Nick's hand away, and then he's wrapping his smaller hand around Nick's dick, and wanking him off. Nick strokes his fingers through the come on his stomach, half rubbing it in, half breathless at the sheer ridiculousness of his response to Louis coming on him. He brings his hand to his mouth, licking it off his fingers, and Louis makes a startled, cut-off moan at the sight of that, and darts in to kiss Nick, catching Nick's whine against his tongue. "God, you love this. You _love_ this."

"Course I do," Nick tells him, but he knows he's going red. Louis's hand is fast on his dick, and he's going to come, his orgasm is right there, just on the edge, trembling over his skin. He cries out as he comes, Louis still fisting his dick, milking him through it until he's done, and then Nick hides his face in Louis's neck, breathless. 

He's come all over Louis's pretty skirt and his stretched out red knickers, and he doesn't even care. 

"Daddy," Louis says, eyes wide. "You really, really liked that."

"Louis—"

"Why didn't you tell me you had a thing for that?" Louis asks, wiping his hand on Nick's thigh. Cheeky monster. "We could have been doing that for ages."

"Shush," Nick says, because his orgasm has blown him the fuck away, and his breath is still heaving. He leans back against the sofa, head tipped back, and tries to remember how to breathe. 

Louis pulls up his knickers, not bothering to clean himself up after coming, and arranges himself so that he's straddling Nick, dick pressed up against Nick's chest. His skirt is a little itchy. "Daddy, I could come all over you." He carefully pinches Nick's nipple. "I could come here, or here—" he rubs at Nick's shoulder, fingertips ghostwalking up Nick's neck and over his jaw. "Here, Daddy. I could come here. Will you let me? Get you all messy with my come. Would you like that, Daddy? If I did that for you?"

_Christ_ , Nick thinks, brain a little hazy at the very thought. 

"Daddy," Louis prompts, pinching Nick's nipple. 

"Yes," Nick says, and is rewarded by Louis beaming at him, and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. 

"I'm going to be the best little boy ever," he says, kissing him again. "I'm going to make you so messy, Daddy."

"You _are_ my best boy, baby," Nick tells him, resting his hand on Louis's bum beneath his skirt. He slips his fingers underneath the knickers to feel his skin and Louis moans into his mouth.

"C'mon, daddy, on the floor. Let's lie down on the floor."

"Lou," Nick murmurs, but Louis's already climbing off him and offering his hand, and Nick is helpless to do anything but smile and take it. Louis bosses him around, until Nick is lying naked on the rug, and Louis gets on his hands and knees overtop him. 

"Nick," Louis whispers, kissing Nick's jaw. "Love you."

Nick's heart is pounding. He loves his boy so, so much. "Same, love. Same."

Louis all but purrs, smug smile on his face like Nick's love is something to be proud of. He kisses his way down Nick's chest, to the mess he left on Nick's dick and balls. He licks at it demurely and Nick groans, threading his fingers into Louis's hair. "Want to make such a mess of you, Daddy," he says. His little skirt is flipped up over his back and Nick can see the sway of his bum as he crawls down Nick's body. 

"Whatever you want, darling boy," Nick tells him, his voice rough. "What're you doing, lovely?"

Louis licks his come from Nick's dick, and his balls, and Nick is getting hard again and Louis is already touching himself through his knickers, hand between his own legs. "Want to suck you, Daddy, can I?"

Nick nods, head tipping back and eyes closing. How this boy can get him so worked up so fast, like he's twenty again, he has no idea. "'Course you can."

"Can I touch you, Daddy?" Louis asks, breathless with anticipation. "Here?" He grazes his fingers between Nick's arse cheeks, over his hole, and Nick has to bite his lip on a cry. He opens his legs a bit.

"Darling," he says, clenching his hand in the rug since Louis's hair is too far out of reach.

"Can I put my fingers in you until you're all hard again, Daddy?"

Oh _god_. "Please, baby. You're such a good boy."

"I like being your good boy," Louis tells him, kissing Nick's hip. He strokes his finger over Nick's hole, and Nick tries not to react, he really does, but it's so hard, especially when Louis wraps his hand around the base of Nick's erection. "Going to suck you now, Daddy."

Christ. Louis kisses the head of his dick, licking along the slit, and Nick clenches his fist into the rug pile as Louis looks up at him from under dark, innocent eyes. 

"So good, love," Nick tells him, even as Louis is pushing Nick's knees up and his legs apart. He's greedy and insistent and delicious and bossy, sucking Nick's dick as he's sliding his fingers inside of him, two fingers deep inside. Nick keens, unable to help himself, and Louis grins around Nick's dick, pressing his tongue to the underside of the crown as he slides in a third finger, just for a moment. 

Louis sits back on his heels, wiping his mouth with one hand then leaning back in and rubbing his fingers over Nick's rim before slipping them back inside of him. "You're so hard, Daddy."

"Little one," Nick says, reaching for him, and Louis darts in to kiss the corner of Nick's mouth. "You did that."

Louis looks impossibly pleased with himself. "I'm hard too," he says in a whisper. "Can I make you all messy?"

Nick wraps his hand around his dick, but Louis pushes his hand away. 

"Daddy," Louis says, reprovingly. "Hands off."

Nick is _writhing_ and he can't even control himself, fucking down onto Louis's slick fingers, stretched so wide. He hasn't let anyone inside him in ages, and it feels strange and good and almost too much. He's so hard it's almost painful, and Louis's cheeks are hollowed around him again before he pulls off and licks around his fingers in Nick's arse.

It's so hot Nick almost comes right there, his cock dripping with spit. He’s so very hard. Louis withdraws his fingers carefully, placing a wet kiss to Nick's rim that makes Nick cry out, and without further ado he crawls back over Nick and kisses him. Nick holds him as close as he can, overwhelmed, until Louis squirms away.

"Stay still, Daddy," he says, breathless, and grips the base of Nick's cock. "I'm going to make you all messy, and you're going to make me all messy inside."

He doesn't even bother to take his knickers off. They'll be stretched out beyond repair, but it's so hot when Louis just pulls them aside, lines himself up and sinks down on Nick's cock like it's nothing at all. His face screws up in pleasure and his whole body goes tight and tense, and then he just opens right up, lets Nick in. Nick bucks his hips up until he's buried all the way, the soft silk-covered elastic of his knickers sliding down Nick's cock, almost painful. 

"Louis," Nick gasps, gripping Louis's hips. Louis's pink-cheeked and panting, mouth wet and eyes heavy-lidded, hard dick half out of his knickers, slick-wet at the tip. "Good boy, Louis. Such a good boy. Daddy's good boy."

"Daddy's good boy," Louis parrots in a wrecked voice. "Daddy, fuck, you feel so good. So big inside me. _God_ , 'm gonna come so fast, come all over you, Daddy, get you so messy."

"Christ," Nick manages. "Fuck, baby. I love you."

"Why didn't you tell me you liked this, Daddy?" Louis rocks up onto his knees before sinking back down, taking in even more of Nick's dick this time. He's tight and hot and _Nick's_. He manages to sound reproving at the same time as ridiculously turned on. It's quite a skill. "I could have been making you all messy all week. You have to tell me these things, Daddy. You have to tell me that you want me to come all over you."

Nick's hips skitter up, outside of his control. He's always known he quite likes it in principle when people come all over him, but it's always seemed like something too intimate for him to properly enjoy. It doesn't feel like that with Louis though. Not when he's here, his little skirt flipped up and his knickers pulled to one side, his t-shirt rucked up, stretched out of shape as Nick pushes it up and out of the way so he can nip at Louis's nipples with his teeth. 

"No, Daddy," Louis says, and pushes him away. He's still fucking down on to Nick's dick, it's all Nick can do to focus. "You have to tell me. If you want me to come all over you, you have to tell me."

"You're so bossy," Nick says, reaching up to cup Louis's cheek. "My gorgeous, bossy boy." 

"Still haven't told me," Louis says, trying to bite the tip of Nick's finger. He looks reproving again. "Daddy, you aren't very good at this."

"Sorry, love," Nick doesn't sound too apologetic, but then, he is fucking up into Louis's arse, and Louis is a delicious, solid weight in his lap, tiny skirt all rucked up, dick peeking out from underneath the pleats, hard and flushed and red. And fuck, he's so, so tight. And hot.

Louis goes up on his knees and refuses to sink back down. "No," he says. "You have to say it, Daddy."

"You're a pest," Nick says, since he finds it virtually impossible to admit that he likes things done to him, and not by him. "But I want you to make a mess of me, love."

"Say, _make me messy_ ," Louis says, inching back down, holding his knickers out of the way. 

"You terrible, terrible boy," Nick says. He strokes his hands under Louis's shirt. "Now make a mess of me, my little one, and make it good."

Louis pinches Nick's nipples and gasps and comes untouched, arse tightening up so hard around Nick's cock, and he spills so hot and so much all over Nick's abs and chest, and even while he's still bouncing on Nick's dick he splays his hands down flat and smears his come all over Nick's skin.

"Daddy, Daddy, _Daddy_ ," Louis cries out, still coming, and Nick shoots off so hard and so sudden that it leaves him breathless. He digs his fingers into Louis's hips and sits up to kiss him. He wishes he could come more, come so much that Louis was just filled all up, so it would drip down his thighs and he'd be such a mess.

Nick kisses Louis's jaw and chest and nipples, bites down on one so that Louis cries out and his dick twitches between them again. His hand is over Nick's racing heart and Nick covers it with his own and holds Louis to him tight, panting, until the waves of his orgasm die down.

Louis's chest is heaving and his skirt is a mess, his knickers torn at one seam and hanging off one leg, his shirt rucked up in a bunch under his arms. "God, you really get off on that," he says, sounding impish and incredibly pleased. Nick smacks his arse and it makes Louis go tight around him again. 

Nick groans. "You're horrible." He rubs Louis's back. "My horrible, wonderful, beautiful boy."

"You love me," Louis sing-songs. He's clenching around Nick methodically now and if it was physically possible for Nick to get hard again he would.

"I do love you," he agrees, and kisses Louis's cheek. "So much, darling."

Louis moves his hips in slow circles. He's so young, cock already fattening up again. He's just come twice in quick succession and he's already raring to go again. "Daddy," Louis whispers.

"Where's your plug, sweetheart?"

It's on the coffee table, and Louis reaches for it at once. Nick takes it from him and presses it to Louis's mouth and Louis takes it between his lips and closes his eyes, clearly happy to be filled from both ends. 

"Get it good and wet, baby."

Once Louis's done, Nick rolls them over, so Louis's splayed on his back on the rug and Nick's kneeling over him. He takes the plug from Louis's lax grip and presses it to his rim. It's bigger than the other one he's had in him, and Louis keens, snuffling loudly when Nick slides out of him and presses the plug in until it catches firmly. His hole clenches down hard around it. Nick snubs his fingers against the base a few times while Louis trembles.

" _Daddy_ ," he says weakly, reaching for Nick. Nick pulls him up and into his lap, gathering him close.

"My sweet boy," Nick tells him, stroking his hair where it's all sticky-up. "My good, best boy, all filled up, aren't you, darling?"

Louis nods, sniffing. "Full of come," he agrees. God, Nick just wants to fuck him forever.

"You're so deliciously filthy," Nick says, stroking his fingers over Louis's cheek. 

"You love it," Louis says, delighted. He wriggles, rolling them over again so that he's lying on top of Nick on the rug. "God, this feels so good, Daddy. So full." He runs his hand over Nick's chest, over the drying come, catching awkwardly on Nick's chest hair. Nick should be revolted, but he isn't, at all. He's just— in love. In love and needy in a way he barely ever is. He lets out a ragged breath as Louis continues to touch him, reverent. 

Nick slides two of his fingers into Louis's mouth, and Louis sucks on them obediently, cheeks hollowed. "You love this," he says, smiling at Louis. "Don't you, love? So full. All filled up."

Louis whines around his fingers, and Nick fucks his mouth, Louis watching him with dark eyes. He shifts a little so that he can push back against Nick's dick with the base of his plug. Nick wants to get him a custom made one, a beautiful glass one where the colour stripes through it, swirling through the glass like the ones he's seen on the internet. Maybe he'll get one the same size as his dick, something perfect and just for Louis, filthy beautiful. 

Nick pulls him closer and kisses around his fingers, Louis groaning into his kiss. He slides his fingers out and uses them, spit-slick and licked wet, to wrap around Louis's fat dick. "Are you going to make a mess of me, my darling?" Nick asks, tilting his chin up. "Are you going to come all over Daddy again, all plugged up?"

Louis moans. "Daddy. _Daddy_."

Nick knows it's asking a lot of Louis to come again so soon, and he has no intention of making it happen quickly. He kisses Louis, slow and gentle. "And afterwards, if you're a good boy for Daddy, we could try the cage again. Or one of the cock rings. Stop you coming so much, hey? Be a good boy."

Louis whines against his mouth, trying to press back against Nick's dick, clearly trying to get some purchase on his plug. 

"Would you like that, love? Make a mess all over me, and then we'll clean you up and lock you down for a bit?"

"Like I'm yours," Louis agrees, cupping Nick's face in his palm. "Like you own me. Like I'm just yours."

"Just like that, Lou," Nick says, playing with Louis's dick with just his first finger and his thumb, so terribly slowly. "Locked down and plugged up."

"I want my collar," Louis tells him, nipping at Nick's bottom lip. "Daddy, please."

Nick is startlingly breathless at the thought. "Of course, baby. After this we'll go upstairs and you can pick out a ring or your cage, and we'll put you in your collar too. Then maybe we could have some dinner with you like that, hey? Would you like that?"

Louis goes a delightful shade of pink. He ducks his gaze, and that does ridiculous, desperate things to Nick's insides. "You could feed me," he asks, a little hesitantly. "If you wanted. I could kneel down and you could feed me. With your hands."

"Christ," Nick says. "Would you want that?"

Louis shrugs a little, embarrassed, and Nick rubs the crown of Louis's dick with his thumb. 

"You'd be so pretty," Nick tells him, and Louis's dick is fat and hard and leaking, and Nick seriously has no idea how he's managing it, but he's so in love with him that it all just feels like fucking magic anyway. "We could put you in some new knickers—"

"No," Louis says quickly. "I want these ones." These ones are torn and messy and wet and slick with come. "This is how much I want you," he says, eyes bright. "I'm wearing these ones."

Nick reaches for him then, unable to help himself, and pulls Louis into a kiss. _I love you_ , he thinks, and _how the fuck does this keep on getting better and better?_

Louis kisses him back, breathless and whining, losing his hands in Nick's hair. "Love you, Nick," he says, in between kisses. "Love you so much."

"Love you, Louis," Nick says, means it so very much. He kisses Louis again and again, until they're both breathless, and Nick is pushing his fingers against the base of the plug and Louis is keening, mewling into his mouth. 

It seems to take ages, and Louis has tears in his eyes by the time he comes, spilling all over Nick and his knickers and his own belly. He's completely wrecked in the aftermath, spacey and achy, clutching kitten-weak at Nick.

"You're brilliant," Nick tells him, and Louis lets out a quiet, slurred sound and rests his head on Nick's shoulder.

"You make me feel so good," Louis tells him, his voice all whimsical. He's in that good, floaty place now, Nick knows, and Nick cradles him close. Louis sighs happily. "You make me feel so good it aches inside, y'know? Like a good ache."

"I love to make you feel good, darling," Nick tells him, stroking his sweaty back. "Makes me feel good, too."

"Convenient, that," says Louis, and Nick laughs.

They stay there on the rug for a long time, until Louis can get his bearings, and then they slowly stand up. Louis is clingy and a little wobbly, and Nick is more than happy to keep him tucked in close to his side as they make their way upstairs. He takes Louis into the bathroom and Louis stretches out on the floor, still looking dreamy and lovely and such a mess, knickers barely clinging to him. Nick pulls them down and cleans him all up with a warm, wet flannel. Louis purrs like a cat at the attention. 

Nick boops his nose with the flannel once he's done, and Louis laughs, pulling Nick down into a kiss.

"You're such an idiot," he says, and Nick pulls him into his lap, right there on the bathroom floor. He kisses him again, Louis curled up against his chest, kissing him over and over. He kisses him until Louis is boneless and a little breathless and mewling against his mouth. They move, then, Nick urging Louis up onto his feet and then carrying him into the bedroom, depositing him gently on the bed. 

Louis whines, stretching out on the sheets, and he's delicious like this, a little dreamy and out of it, smooth all over and smiling happily up at Nick even as Nick bends down to get Louis's collar from the case. He comes back with the collar, a cock ring, and the cock cage. "Do you know which one you want?" Nick asks, leaning over to peck a kiss to Louis's willing mouth. "Ring or cage?"

"Cage," Louis tells him, words sounding a little thick. "Cage, please, Daddy."

Nick cups Louis's face in his hands, kissing him gently. "Little one," he says, softly. "My little one."

Louis smiles at him then, slowly. "All yours," he says, and then he tilts his head back, baring his throat. "Collar, please, Daddy."

"Pest," Nick says, but he's careful with him, even more careful than he is usually, stroking Louis's hair out of the way as he urges him up, enough that he can thread the collar around his neck and buckle it closed. "How's that feel?" Time seems to have slowed down a little, and when Louis looks up at him, his eyes seem a little darker than normal. 

"Good," Louis tells him. "Kiss me, Nick."

Nick dutifully leans in, kissing him gently. "You ready for your cage, love? Get you all locked up in your messy knickers, hmm? Such a messy boy, aren't you? You've made such a mess of your knickers, getting Daddy all dirty."

"Daddy—"

"You're so good, love," Nick tells him, kissing his way down Louis's smooth chest. Louis's hands find their way into Nick's hair, and Nick likes how it feels, Louis scritching at his scalp, whimpering a little as Nick gets down to his dick, pulling his messy knickers down. He fastens the ring around behind his balls, and then carefully slots the cage over Louis's dick, pinning the two parts together and sliding the lock closed. He puts the bracelet with the key on it around Louis's wrist, and the necklace around his own neck. "There we go, love. You're all locked up." He slides his hand between Louis's legs, and presses his fingers to the base of Louis's plug. 

Louis whimpers, and Nick carefully pulls his knickers back up, settling them over his cage. They're so messy. Louis is such a mess. Such a dirty, lovely, mess. "Need something in my mouth, Daddy. Please."

Jesus. Louis is perfect. Nick wets his lips and cups Louis's crotch, the cage still against his hand. Louis whines and opens his legs up, balls peeking through the legs of his messy knickers. "You do, love, don't you? I think there are some ice lollies downstairs. D'you want one of those?"

Louis shakes his head, already breathless and turned on, cheeks pink. "Want your cock, Daddy, Will you put it in my mouth?"

Nick hums quietly, nuzzling Louis's neck. He fondles the cage a little, reaching back to cup his smooth balls. Louis hiccups quietly and pulls on Nick's hair. "Of course I will, baby. Get up against the pillows."

Louis scrambles to obey, until he's partially reclined against the wealth of pillows against the headboard. Nick's cock isn't quite fully hard again yet but Louis's gaze on it is desperately hot. Nick knees his way up the bed, straddling Louis's body, and Louis puts his hands on Nick's hips once he's close enough. Nick grips himself by the base and brushes the head across Louis's lips. 

Louis moans out loud, wanton and needy. 

"Will you fuck my mouth, Daddy?" he asks breathlessly. He reaches between them to touch himself, cupping himself through the cage. It's like a security blanket to him and it's so hot Nick just wants to keel over. 

"That what you want? Want me to fill you up with my cock, baby boy?"

Louis wets his lips, tongue catching the tip of Nick's dick. "Yes, Daddy, _please_."

Nick cups Louis's jaw. His voice comes out husky and low. "Open up, kitten."

Louis is such a good boy, Nick's very best good boy, and his mouth goes slack at once. Nick feeds him his cock in slow increments while Louis's tense and needy with anticipation, moaning around Nick's dick, his wicked little tongue all along the vein on the underside. He mouths at the tip when Nick pulls back a bit. By the time he gets it in as far as he can go, Louis's got a blissed out look on his face and is rocking his own hips between Nick's legs, getting some pressure on the plug inside him. He breathes harshly through his nose, throat contracting around Nick's dick and it feels so very, very good. Pleasure sears up and down Nick's spine and he hardens up fast.

It takes them a few tries to find a rhythm, for Louis to adjust his breathing, and it's so messy, spit everywhere, Louis's mouth wet and red and stretched wide around Nick's cock. Nick fucks into his mouth in slow, even thrusts. "God, Lou, you've done so good. You're such a good learner. Look how deep you can take Daddy's cock. You're such a good boy. My most special, best boy, so good for Daddy."

He's babbling but it's getting him even more turned on, and Louis is too, judging from the sounds he's making. Nick cups Louis's cheeks and tilts his head back just a bit more so he's able to dick in even deeper, and Louis's wept a little, tear tracks down his cheeks, his hands kneading Nick's arse. He just lies there and _takes it_ , lets Nick use him to get off. Nick isn't going to be able to last.

Louis is taking so much of him in, and it's almost too much for Nick to deal with. He fucks into his mouth, trying to keep slow and steady even though he wants to take more. He wants to give Louis everything, everything he could ask for and more. "I'm going to come, baby," he says. "Daddy's going to come."

Louis whines then, fingertips pressed to Nick's thighs, and it's so, so much. This beautiful boy, offering him so much, offering him everything, so good and perfect and _his_ —it's too much. Nick starts to come. He comes hard, pulsing inside of Louis's mouth, and Louis tries to take it all, but he can't, and some slides out of his mouth even as Nick starts to pull out, breathless and panting. He kisses his own come off of Louis's mouth, even as Louis whimpers into his kiss, and Nick can't stop, he just can't. He kisses him over and over, until Louis is crying and clinging to him and begging for more, trembling against Nick's chest as he kisses him again. 

"I'm yours," Louis tells him, over and over, his voice wrecked, cheeks stained with tears, lips bitten red and swollen. "Tell me I'm yours."

"You're mine, Louis," Nick tells him, and he doesn't stop at once, or twice. He tells him ten times, twelve, even. He tells him with his finger hooked into Louis's collar, tells him as he pinches his nipples, tells him as he sucks bruises onto Louis's hips, tells him as he cups his cage in the palm of his hand. "Every bit of you is mine."

"Yes, yes," Louis sobs, and he rocks his hips up into Nick's hand, even though it's useless, because the cage stops him getting hard. The plug must be moving inside of him every time he rocks up, and Nick has no idea how that must feel, being so desperate to get hard and just not being able to. "Daddy, Daddy."

"I've got you," Nick says, kissing his hip, his thigh, his chest. "I've got you. You're being so good, little one. Daddy's best boy, Louis. You're so good."

It takes Louis a long time to calm down. Nick gathers him into his arms and holds him, stroking his back and telling him how lovely he is, until Louis is still and lax and sleepy, still a bit spacey, solidly in his being a good boy mindset, and Nick kisses him and strokes his bum through his knickers.

"Are you hungry, baby?" he asks, because it's nearly lunch time.

Louis nods, yawning. Nick smiles and tucks him in close again.

"All right, I'll order something in, shall I?" 

He calls up the staff while Louis rests against him, and orders an extensive crudité platter. After he hangs up, they doze a bit in bed, Louis's leg thrown over Nick's so the skin-warm metal of his cage presses to Nick's thigh. Nick keeps one hand on Louis's bum, underneath his knickers, feeling even more possessive than usual, and it's quiet and nice and sleepy for half an hour until the food arrives.

It's all set out on the table for them when they go downstairs, with two plates on either side. Nick puts one of them away and Louis pulls in a deep breath, kissing Nick's shoulder. 

Nick sits down and lifts Louis's hand to his mouth to kiss. "Go and get a cushion from the sofa and bring it back here."

Louis does, and Nick has him put it down on the floor at the side of his chair. "On your knees, darling."

"Yes, Daddy," Louis murmurs, and sinks right down to his knees. Nick hooks a finger into Louis's collar, just so it pulls a little, and is rewarded by Louis's affectionate, open smile. He loads up his plate with olives and smoked salmon pastries, sun dried tomatoes and stuffed peppers. He pops an olive into his mouth and then picks one up and considers Louis.

"Do you like olives, little one?"

"Only the green ones," Louis answers. "Can I have one?"

"Of course," says Nick. This is deliciously fun. He feeds Louis an olive, and then another, and then a small stuffed pepper. Louis is eager and sweet and filthy about it, pulling Nick's fingers in with each bite he takes. He's on his knees with Nick's come plugged into his arse, with his cock in a cage and the little key around his wrist, with his messy knickers and his reddened nipples and he's just so sexy and gorgeous and lovely and Nick is so, so in love with him.

"Can I have one of the tomatoes?" 

Nick rolls his eyes. "Who's in charge here, love?"

"Me," Louis says decidedly, wriggling a little bit on his cushion. He spreads his legs so his cage is properly on show in the stretch of his ruined knickers "Step on it, Nicholas."

Nick lets it go. Louis when he's all puffed up and bossy and in charge is delightful. "You sure you don't want one of the smoked salmon ones?"

Louis wrinkles his nose. "No?"

"Try one," Nick says, taking one for himself. "They're delicious."

"If it's not a fish finger I won't like it," Louis says. 

"You ate the tuna. And we had sushi at mine that time."

"Daddy," Louis whines. 

Nick holds out a tiny smoked salmon pastry. "Try it."

Louis looks mutinous, but he obediently opens his mouth and takes a bite. He doesn't spit it out all over the floor, which Nick's counting as a win. "It's all right."

Nick leans in and kisses his forehead. "Pest."

Louis rolls his eyes, and pokes Nick in the thigh. "Now can I have a tomato?"

"Do you want to have your hands tied behind your back, love? Because you're going the right way about it."

Louis makes a tiny, squeaky sort of a noise, which, _oh_. 

Nick files that away for later, and picks up a tomato. It's covered in oil and his fingers get slippery immediately. When he holds it down for Louis, the oil slides down his hand. Louis looks positively impish as he touches his tongue to Nick's hand, drags it all the way up the side of his finger to get the oil before enveloping the tomato in his mouth along with most of the length of Nick's fingers. He's positively filthy, moaning a bit, cupping himself through his knickers and then wrapping his hand around Nick's wrist.

When he finally pulls away, Nick fiddles with the tie of his robe and raises an imperious eyebrow. "You think you're cute, don't you?"

"I think I'm very cute, Daddy," says Louis, batting his eyelashes. "Don't you?"

Nick feeds him some kind of tiny mushroom vol-au-vent instead of answering, and they finish lunch that way, with Nick feeding the both of them. Louis leans into the chair after a while, resting his head on Nick's hip, and Nick strokes his hair with his clean hand and gives him a glass of wine.

After, they clean up together and head for the pool. They didn't eat enough to sink to the bottom, but neither does Nick think they'll be racing each other. Instead, Louis drops his knickers at the edge of the pool and the sight of him naked except for the cock cage is so incredibly hot that Nick can't help but sweep him into his arms and kiss him, then kiss him again.

"I'm going to buy you one properly," Nick tells him, once they're in the water and Nick has Louis pulled back into his chest, Louis's bum flush against his crotch. Nick wraps his hand around Louis's cock and strokes his fingers over the tip, the cage cool in the water. "We'll have one custom made just for you. It'll be so lovely, Louis. It'll be so beautiful. Just for you."

"Want that," Louis tells him. "Want it to be yours, want to wear it. Feels so good to be yours, Daddy."

Nick kisses his neck and settles them down on the step in the shallow end, Louis between his legs. His collar is on the table across the room and Louis's neck looks bare, but Nick kisses the place where it would be, all over, and Louis squirms and says, "Oh!"

"What?" Nick asks, concerned, but Louis just smiles up at him a bit.

"Just..sitting on a hard surface whilst wearing a plug. Bit strange. Good strange."

"Just like you," Nick teases, and Louis plucks a leg hair from Nick's leg in revenge.

He looks quite delighted at Nick's sharp cry. 

"You little terror," Nick says, poking him in the side. 

"You love me," Louis says, quite unperturbed. He rocks back a little, whining as the plug shifts inside of him. "Can we go snowboarding again tomorrow?"

"Course we can," Nick says. He's cupped his hand around the cage, still not quite able to believe that he has this beautiful, cheeky, terror of a boy that's all his. "How about I take you out for a proper meal in the evening, too? Something really special."

"A date?" Louis asks, shifting so that he can look up at Nick. 

"Yeah," Nick says. "Flowers and dinner and a lot of wine and then, I don't know, dancing?"

"Aren't you too old to club, though?" Louis makes a face. "Do they have an upper age cut off? Do you have, like, a second passport that you can show bouncers to prove that you're not over the hill? With a fake age? Do you have one where you pretend to be 29?"

"You're a horror," Nick says. "And I'll have you know, I'm cool for my age."

"That's what all the grandads say. Then they do that awful dad dance and embarrass everyone."

"You don't have to come out with me if you don't want to," Nick points out. 

"Oh, I'm coming," Louis says. "But I'm taking my phone so I can take pictures. For proof."

Nick kisses his jaw. "We don't have any pictures of each other, you know."

"We'll rectify that," Louis says, in satisfaction. "You can have a picture of my willy, if you like."

"Nrgh," Nick manages, which is absolutely and utterly English. "I was sort of thinking of your face, but I'll take that too."

"We'll take twelve million selfies tomorrow," Louis says. "We'll get random people to take pictures of us all day. It'll be brilliant."

"Mm-hmm," Nick says, from where he's kissing a bruise into Louis's throat. 

Louis tilts his head to bare more of his neck, and covers Nick's hand where it's cupping the cage. "Nick?"

"Mm?"

"Why do you like the cage so much?" Louis asks, sounding curious. "I know why I like it. Why do you?"

Nick hugs Louis close, kisses the bruise he just left on his neck. "I don't know where to start. You look incredible in it. I get to wear the key to it around my neck. I love how much you love it. I love it like I love your collar, because it marks you as mine, and, like, you've got a key around your wrist too, don't you? And it means you're mine because you _want_ to be mine."

"Always want to be," Louis says, turning his head for a kiss. "Always."

"Always," Nick agrees. He slides his free hand up Louis's belly to play with one of his nipples, hard and pebbled from being just above the water line. His voice is hot in Louis's ear. "I love the idea of teasing you until you're desperate. Playing with you and you being so fucking desperate to get hard, but you can't. So turned on, love, all those endorphins making you feel so good. You'll feel amazing. Imagine me playing with your soft dick, and then imagine me taking your plug out and fucking you while you get that big dildo with the suction cup wet in your mouth."

"You'll come in me?" Louis says. "You'll come inside me again?"

"Get you so messy inside," Nick assures him.

"And then what?" Louis demands. He loves being talked dirty to. It's about time someone appreciated Nick's storytelling skills.

"And then we'll stick your dildo to the kitchen counter, right out in the open, and you'll ride it for me, put on a good show for Daddy until you can't take it anymore."

"And then I'll get to come," Louis says. 

Nick laughs against his neck. "Yes, love. Then we'll take your cage off."

"Well, then," Louis says, blushing a delicious shade of pink. "Let's do that now." He makes to climb up out of the water, but Nick anchors him to his chest, kissing the back of his neck. 

"Did I say now?" Nick asks. He's playing with him, and Louis wriggles, curling into his touch. 

"Daddy," Louis whines. "Daddy, please."

Nick just makes Louis turn around so that he's kneeling over Nick on the step, knees either side of Nick's thighs. The water laps around them, and Louis wraps his arms around Nick's neck, kissing his cheek. Nick trails a hand down Louis's back and in between his cheeks until he finds the base of Louis's plug, and then he presses on it, gentle and smooth. 

Louis whimpers, wrapping his arms tight around Nick's neck. "Daddy, my daddy," he says, tucking his face into the curve of Nick's neck. 

"You like that, little one?" Nick asks, still playing with the base of his plug, pressing it a little further in, then letting go, stroking further down, over his perineum, and Louis bucks up at that, as Nick strokes him so gently, and so slowly that he's barely moving at all. He brushes Louis's balls with the crook of his finger, round the metal cock ring, and Louis makes a sound like a sob in his throat, and Nick kisses him then. He kisses away his whimpers and his whines as Nick continues to touch him, as Louis starts to tremble in his arms. 

"Love you, Daddy," Louis tells him, in between kisses, and Nick tilts back Louis's head, baring his throat. He sucks a love bite into Louis's throat, mouthing at it, nipping at it with his teeth. Louis sobs out a _yes_ , and Nick grins as he kisses him again. 

"All mine," Nick says. "All mine, sweetheart." He kisses his nose. "Are you ready for Daddy to fuck you now, come inside of you? Make you so messy, darling."

Louis sobs his yes, and Nick can't help but think that if Louis is losing it _now_ , how the fuck is he going to get through being fucked and riding the dildo. Nick cups his face in his hands. 

"Hey, sweetheart," he says. "Louis, love. Look at me. Look at Daddy. How are you going to tell me if it's too much?"

"It won't be," Louis says, but his eyes are so dark. 

"No," Nick says. "You can tell me to stop by saying stop, by using traffic lights—red means stop, and amber means slow down—or by saying something else."

"I won't need to," Louis tells him stoutly. 

"This isn't an endurance race, sweetheart. Tell me you'll tell me to stop if it feels too much."

Louis nods at that, leaning in to him. "I promise," he says, and Nick lets out a breath, kissing his cheek, his jaw, his temple. 

"Come on, then, love. Let's get you all showered and dried off and then Daddy's going to fuck you, all right?"

They rinse off under the showers by the side of the pool. Afterwards, Nick wraps Louis in the biggest, fluffiest towel he can find in the towel room, and then hurriedly gets himself dried off so he can focus on Louis. He dries him off so carefully, from his hair down to his toes, and then he takes him to one of the smaller sitting rooms off the kitchen, this one with a ridiculous, huge, circular sofa that Nick couldn't exactly understand as a concept before this moment, and lays Louis out on it, on his front. 

Louis reaches for his hand and Nick takes it gratefully, lacing his fingers in with Louis's. His other hand he uses to urge Louis up onto his hands and knees, and he reaches in between Louis's legs to cup his cage. 

"You're already everything to me," Nick tells him, kissing the curve of Louis's spine. "You know that, right? Everything, Louis."

"Same," Louis says, and his voice sound rough and tentative and he grips Nick's hand, hard. "Didn't think I could love anyone this much, this quick. Properly fast, innit?"

"Too fast?" Nick asks. 

Louis shakes his head. "Don't think I could have managed if we'd taken it any slower. All them weeks when you came into the cafe. Think I might even have loved you then, you know? I had such a massive crush. They all used to tease me for it."

"Did they, now," Nick says. 

"Yeah," Louis says. He's still on his hands and knees. He wiggles his bum. Christ. 

"I've never—" Nick stops. "This is fast for me. I don't, like— I've never really been all that good at commitment. Always think something better's waiting around the corner."

Louis looks at him. His brow's a little furrowed. "You looking around the corner already?"

"No," Nick says. "Just looking at you." 

Louis blushes pink. He's so lovely. Nick squeezes his hand. Louis's lovely all of the time, but on his hands and knees, pretty and waiting, he's just stunning. Nick kisses his back again, stroking the swell of his bum before nudging his cheeks apart. The plug is still snug inside him, and Nick plays with it a bit, pushing at the base so it'll rub against Louis's prostate. Louis lets out a sob and drops down onto his elbows so he can bury his face in his arms.

"Going to take this out now, darling," Nick tells him, and he moans gently and pushes his arse out a bit more. Nick grips the base of the plug and, slowly, whilst rolling Louis's balls in the palm of his other hand, pulls the plug out from the tight clench of Louis's arse.

It's obscene, and so hot, the way his hole clenches up afterwards, and the sound he makes, a bereft little whine at being empty. Some of Nick's come is on the plug, and a bit leaks out of Louis, too. Nick licks at his rim. 

"Daddy," Louis whines, spreading his legs a bit wider. "Daddy, _please_."

"I've got you, love," Nick promises. Louis's wet and open, and Nick is so hard. He fists himself as he licks Louis out, pressing his tongue into him, licking the come out of him until Louis is crying and mewling, voice all slurred when he says Nick's name.

"Please, Daddy, please fuck me, God, Nick I need it, please, please, want you to fuck me, Daddy, I feel so empty, it's so empty, please Daddy put it in me need it need you—"

He cries out when Nick pushes two fingers in, slick with his own spit and Louis is so nicely stretched out already from the plug. Nick adds another one, curling his fingers inside of Louis, and cups Louis's cock in its cage. It must feel so desperate, being so aroused and unable to get hard. "That what you need, baby?" Nick asks, voice husky, holding Louis open on his fingers. "Need my cock?"

" _Yes_ ," Louis gasps. "Yes, God, please, need your cock. Need your come, Daddy."

Nick kisses Louis’s back, and then his neck, lining himself up against Louis’s arse. Louis lets out a dry sob at the feel of Nick's cock snubbing up against his hole, and he lets out a loud, keening cry when Nick pushes in.

It's slow and so, so good. Louis's so hot inside, squeezing his muscles around Nick's cock. He sobs out _Daddy_ once Nick is fully inside, and Nick is breathing hard, head spinning, eyes prickling from how good it feels. He cups both hands over Louis's cock, over his cage, holds Louis close to him like that and tries to catch his breath.

"God, you're such a good boy, Louis. My good boy. You make me so fucking happy. So happy, love."

Louis clenches around him pointedly, little brat prince that he is. "Love you, Nick."

"Love you too, kitten," Nick tells him, kissing his shoulder. "Get your fingers in your mouth, now, like a good boy."

Louis whines at that, but he obediently slides three fingers into his mouth, groaning around them as he gets them wet. "Am I good?" he asks, around his fingers. 

Nick tilts his hips up, changing the angle just a little. "So good," he tells him, kissing the back of his neck again. "How's that feel, darling? Daddy filling you up. All locked up for Daddy." He strokes his hand over the cage, the metal skin-warmed and starting to feel familiar. Anticipation and need sparks across his skin as he slowly slides out of him, until it's just the head left inside, and then he pushes back in again. He fucks him so slowly that he wants to cry out with need, and he has to bite his lip to keep the words from spilling out. 

Louis whimpers as he fucks his fingers in and out of his mouth, spit sliding down his chin and over his fingers and down to his palm. It's desperate and filthy and Nick can't get over how much Louis loves this, or how much _he_ loves it. "Daddy, please."

Nick fucks into him, trying not to be rough, one hand always cupping Louis through this cage. He can't get over the sounds Louis's making, the desperate, bitten-off sobs as he sucks his own fingers, so deliciously, decadently needy that Nick can't take his eyes off him. "All full up for Daddy," he says, fucking his hips up. "This is what you like, isn't it, my little one? All locked up for Daddy. Stuffed from both ends. Can't wait to see you work that dildo, darling. Going to put it on the counter in the kitchen, and line you up so you can sink down onto it. So filthy, sweetheart." He can't shut up. Everything in his head is just coming straight out, like his brain-to-mouth filter is missing, presumed dead. "Do you want to ride your dildo, love? Show Daddy how needy you are? How filthy?"

Louis whines around his fingers. He slides them out of his mouth, wiping them on the pillow. "I'm going to be so full, Daddy. Will you plug me back up before we go into the kitchen?" He sounds fucked out and wrecked already, voice a little slurred. "Plug your come inside of me, Daddy. Don't want to be empty."

"You won't be, darling." He's getting so close. His orgasm is just _there_ , so close he can feel it starting to spark across his skin. He cannot get to grips with how Louis must be feeling right now. He's flushed and sweating and his hair's sticking to his forehead, his voice ragged and wrecked. 

"Come in me, Daddy," Louis begs, before sliding four fingers into his mouth. His _please_ is muffled. 

Nick presses his hand to Louis's cock cage, and starts to come. He comes so hard that he sees stars, vision white at the edges. Louis is clenching him around him, tight and hot and perfect, and Nick loves him so, so much. 

It takes him a bit to catch his breath, and when he does he slowly pulls out and eases the plug back inside. Louis's looser around it. They'll leave it out for the rest of the night after this, and all of tomorrow, give him a rest. Nick presses a kiss to his bum just above the base and sits down next to Louis, who climbs into his lap at once.

He's still sucking on his fingers, cupping the cage, and he muffles Nick's name. Nick holds him close, kisses his hair and face. "You're such a good boy, my love. Such a very good boy."

"For Daddy," Louis says, finally removing his fingers. They're wet and he smears it all over Nick's nipples, sitting up properly to pinch at them. "Full of Daddy's come. A good boy for my Daddy."

He’s smirking, even as turned on as he is, and Nick pinches his bum. Louis just bears his sharp little teeth in a grin, and Nick just has to kiss him, so they spend a long time snogging with Louis pressed close, cage against Nick's belly, before Nick finally pulls back.

"We'll need to collect your toy, won't we?" he says, and Louis nods. Nick kisses his cheek. "Go on then."

Louis kisses Nick three more times before he hurries upstairs to the toy box. Nick takes a moment to wipe down the counter, just to be safe. Louis already has the dildo in his mouth when he gets back downstairs, cheeks hollowed around it. He's so aroused, eyes dark with it. He's going to harden up so fast when Nick takes the cage off. He's going to come so hard. Nick can't wait to see it.

"Here, Daddy," Louis says breathlessly, voice already a little fucked from the dildo. He hands Nick the toy and Nick takes it by the base, bending to kiss Louis's willing mouth. Affixing it to the counter is easy, and looks fucking hilarious. Louis prods at it so it wobbles and Nick tries very hard not to laugh. This is supposed to be sexy, damn it. Louis's grinning too, though. 

"C'mere, little one," Nick says. He picks Louis up and sets him on the counter, taking a moment to tug on his flaccid dick a few times and fondle his balls. Louis whines loudly. Nick kisses the corner of his mouth. "Do you feel loose enough, or do you want any more lube?"

"'m loose," Louis promises, wide-eyed and needy. "Please, Daddy, I'm loose enough."

Nick cups his cheek, kissing the corner of his mouth. "Just a little, then," he says, and slicks up the dildo with the remains of the tube of strawberry lube he'd nabbed while Louis was upstairs. "My sweet boy. All right then, are you ready?"

"Want to show you," Louis tells him, pulling his legs up onto the counter. "Give you what you want. Give you a show."

"You already are," Nick says, feeling his dick twitch again. This boy is going to be the death of him.

Louis smiles, flushing under the praise, and gets to his knees. He cups the cage the way he has been doing all day long, like he can't keep his hands off it, and reaches behind himself to remove the plug. It comes out with a wet sound and a little of Nick’s come sliding down his thighs. It's so unbelievably hot it makes Nick's breath catch. Louis whines a little, clearly hating to be empty, but he lines himself up with the dildo quickly and presses himself down.

He whimpers as he sinks down onto it, breathless and wretched and needy and _Nick's_. He's got one hand still cupping his cage, but he grabs for Nick with his other one, fingers squeezing. "Daddy, Daddy, _please_."

Nick cups Louis's face in his other hand, and leans in to slant his mouth to meet Louis's. "My gorgeous, beautiful, full-up boy," he says, in startling awe at just what Louis has accomplished today. "You got that dildo so wet, didn't you? Love to be full up at both ends, don't you, love?"

Louis just cries out at that, breath hitching even as Nick kisses him. Louis isn't moving yet, is just sunk right down full on the dildo, knees to the counter. 

"What's it feel like, darling? How's it feel?"

Louis's breath catches. "So, so hot," he says, and his face is flushed. "Like I want to come so hard. I don't—I don't know, Daddy. Feels like I'm floating."

"Sweetheart," Nick says, kissing Louis's hot lips, his flushed cheek, his sweat-damp forehead. "My little one. You're so, so good. Show me how filthy you are. Show me how much you need this. Then we'll unlock you and you can come, darling. You can come."

"All over you?"

Nick can't get hard again, he just can't, but he wants to. He wants to so, so much. "Yes, baby. Come all over me. Come all over your daddy, like a good little boy."

Louis kisses him again, and then he rolls his hips up, lifting himself up so that he can fuck back down onto the dildo. It wobbles obscenely as Louis slides off it, and then presses back down. Nick can't take his eyes off the beautiful cage. He covers Louis's hand with his own, cupping the warm metal as Louis rocks down onto the dildo. 

"Going to get you your own, custom made one, sweetheart. Would you like that? Made just for you. Engraved with your name, if you like."

"Engraved with _your_ name," Louis tells him, panting as he fucks his hips down. It's desperately, beautifully filthy, this dildo sliding in and out of Louis like this. "Yours, Daddy, yours."

"Both of our names, pet," Nick says, lacing his fingers with Louis's. "You're doing so well, little one. Daddy's good boy. Showing me just how needy and desperate and filthy you are. Just how much cock you can take."

Louis whines, cut off and broken, and he has to be close to his limit. 

"Do you want to come, baby?" Nick asks. "Do you want to come for Daddy?"

"Please," Louis sobs. He's got tears on his cheeks, can barely form the word. "Please, Daddy, please please please please, Daddy, _please_."

"All right, sweetheart, you're all right. I'm going to take your cage off now, okay?"

Louis is so good, and so sweet. He drops down fully onto the dildo and he's shaking so much, stuffed full. He reluctantly takes his hand away from the cage. Louis sniffles, gasping for breath, gripping Nick's shoulders as Nick bends down to fit the key into the slot and twist. The audible click of the release makes Louis whine, and Nick can’t take his eyes of him. He's so careful with Louis as he eases the pin out.

As soon as the cage is gone Louis's dick _jumps_ , and he hardens up so fast his cock goes stiff and big and red in a second. He's breathing hard, mewling, clutching at Nick's shoulders. Nick ducks his head and kisses the tip of his cock and Louis cries out loud. 

Nick doesn't tease any more after that. He takes Louis deep into his mouth and Louis comes almost immediately. His cock is so hot and heavy on Nick's tongue and just throbbing with every pulse. There's a lot of it, and Nick pulls away even as Louis's still coming. It splashes onto Nick's belly and his hip and Nick wishes he could get hard again. Louis's arse is clenching around the dildo and his thighs are shaking as Nick jerks him through the rest of it. It's so wet and messy and filthy.

"God, Louis, you're so good, baby, you're so good for me. You're such a good boy, I love you so much, you did so good."

Louis drops against Nick's chest, crying quietly, overwhelmed and all fucked out. His cock must be so tender, and Nick takes his hand away but Louis whines a bit and pulls it back, keeps Nick cupping him as he softens, cock still throbbing after his orgasm. He's still sat on the dildo, holding Nick's hand to his dick.

"Yours," he slurs against Nick's shoulder. "'m yours."

"All mine," Nick agrees.

They stay there for a little bit longer, Nick holding Louis as he trembles, kissing him over and over and over. He keeps Louis's dick cupped gently in his palm, and it's only when Nick feels Louis's thigh muscles shaking with the strain that he makes a move to help him off the counter and onto the floor. 

Louis whimpers at the removal of the dildo, tears sliding down his cheeks, and Nick is horror-stricken until Louis shakes his head and curls into Nick's front, holding on to him as hard as he can. "Good tears," he says, but his voice shakes, and Nick bundles him up into the tightest hug possible. 

Nick doesn't particularly want any kind of housekeeper to find Louis's cage or dildo on the kitchen counter, so he grabs them, even as he's stumbling Louis towards the stairs, and a bed, and a duvet. Louis is unsteady on his feet, and they make heavy weather of getting up the stairs. Nick steers them towards the nearest bedroom, and he curls them both up in the middle of the bed with the duvet wrapped tight around them both. 

Louis clings to him, and cries, and Nick holds on and kisses the top of his head and keeps him as close as possible. He tells him he loves him, over and over, and that he's the best boy, he's Nick’s best boy, that he's so good. It's a long time until Louis comes back to himself, and stops shaking in Nick's arms. 

"Nick," Louis says, in a croaky voice. "Nick."

"There you are, baby," Nick says, and tries not to let on how unnerving having Louis cry in his arms has been. "You back with me, love?"

"God," Louis says, shifting position enough that he can tilt his head back and meet Nick's gaze head on. "That was incredible. That was amazing."

"You sure?" Nick asks, as lightly as he can manage. "Because that was quite a lot of crying you just did."

Louis kisses his neck, his throat, and then his jaw. "I felt like I was flying," he says. "How did you make me feel like that?"

"Think you did all that by yourself, darling."

"No," Louis says, stubbornly. "Think we did all that together."

Nick smoothes Louis's hair away from his face. Louis is in desperate need of a shower, but Nick doesn't want to move. He wants to stay like this forever, the two of them pressed together so close. "You sure you're all right, Louis?"

Louis kisses the corner of his mouth, cupping Nick's face in his hand. "I love you," he says, softly, "and I'm the best I've ever been."

Nick can't help but smile, heart swelling in his chest. Louis's so lovely and so sweet, and Nick is so ridiculously in love with him. This is dangerous. Feeling like this about someone is _so dangerous_. Nick strokes Louis's hair off his face. Louis shifts to get closer and winces.

"Sore, love?"

"Yeah," Louis answers, grimacing. "You gave me a thorough seeing-to today."

Nick smiles quite smugly. "How about a nice warm bath?"

Louis nods and picks himself up, stretching. Nick sits up too and kisses the back of his shoulder. Louis smiles back at him. "Shower first, then bath. With bubbles."

The bath in this room is even bigger than the one they have upstairs, and takes ages to fill. Louis pours enough bubble bath into it that there are mountains of suds, and Nick lights candles all around the edge, brings them both a glass of wine and hands them to Louis, who's already luxuriating in the tub.

"Do you want to keep the light on?" Nick asks him.

Louis shakes his head. "The candles are good," he says. He sounds nice and relaxed already. "Just leave the door to the bedroom open?"

It's already half open, but Nick eases it open the rest of the way so the lamplight from the bedside table filters through a bit, and then flips the light off.

It's nice and romantic. Nick puts on what looks like the most relaxing playlist available on the sound system, and steps into the bath behind Louis, who scoots up to let Nick sit down, before relaxing back against his chest. The water is hot and all the candles smell like vanilla and lavender, which are good for relaxation and sleep. Nick could take a degree in candles. Back when he was first starting out, fancy candles were one of his first extravagances. He’s never got past that feeling of decadence and just feeling _rich_ , buying luxuries like candles. He’s got so much richer over the years, has so much fucking money he doesn’t know what to do with it half the time, but he’s never forgotten that first feeling of having his own free money for luxuries.

The bath feels so good. Nick loops one arm around Louis's chest. Louis takes his hand, loops his hand around Nick's wrist and turns it so he can stroke his fingertip over the patch of scar tissue Nick has near the inside of his elbow. It's something Louis does a lot, touches there. Nick's never offered an explanation because he's not sure Louis really wants to know, or talk about it. Nick doesn't feel like he's walking on egg shells with Louis, it's nothing as sharp as that, but he treads softly on some subjects, feeling uncertain and unsure how to step.

But tonight Louis sighs, humming happily, and turns his head to touch a kiss to Nick's chest, stroking over the scar again. "Is it okay if I ask how you got this?"

Nick smiles and hugs Louis close, relieved. "It's the _best_ story, are you ready?"

Louis snorts. "I'm ready. Weirdo."

Nick clears his throat importantly. "Well, I was like eleven, and my best friend Jenny and I were in her bedroom with her parents' video camera, dressed as Kylie and Jason and shooting our own video for _Especially for You_."

"Dressed as who?" Louis asks, but he's teasing. Nick pinches his nipple and carries on.

"So there I was, in the most amazing jewellery, singing my heart out, and I tripped over Jenny's Sindy house and crashed into the corner of her bed, where there was a broken bit that just took this big, like, chunk right out of my arm."

"Did it hurt?" Louis asks, stroking his thumb over Nick's arm. 

_Not as much as any of your scars did_ , Nick thinks. "Like buggery," he says. "I yelled my head off, totally embarrassed myself in front of Jenny's mum and dad, and I had to get _stitches_. Stitches. They gave me a plaster with My Little Pony on. My brother and my sister thought it was the funniest fucking thing that had ever happened. I made everyone be nice to me and bring me sandwiches and cups of tea. For, like, weeks. I made my mum put my arm in a sling. I got off games for a bit, though. I hated PE." 

Louis is still tapping his fingers against Nick's arm. "And Jenny?"

"She was so apologetic that she didn't even complain the next time I made her be Jason to my Kylie." Nick kisses the top of Louis's head. 

Louis snorts. "You were Kylie?"

"Who did you expect me to be, love?" Nick makes a big deal of rolling his eyes. "There's a picture of me, in like, 1991 or something, when I should have known better because Kylie was so eighties. I was dressed in a white crop top with socks down it, and this little blue frilly denim skirt, with this massive blonde curly wig on, lip syncing to _I Should Be So Lucky_ at a family barbecue."

"Sexy," Louis says, and Nick tightens his hold on him. 

"And you were probably just a baby, so that makes me feel about a hundred and eight."

"Don't," Louis says, and he tucks his hand into Nick's. "I like that you're older than me. I don't want you any other way."

"That's good," Nick says lightly, "because I'm buggered if I know how to build a time machine. Obviously I have a portrait in my attic, otherwise I wouldn't be looking so young and sprightly." He affects a pose, but the reference goes over Louis's head. Louis looks serious. Nick strokes his fingers through Louis's hair. "What?"

"I mean it," Louis says. "Just—you're what I need. You. Just the way you are."

"You say the nicest things," Nick says, in a vague attempt at covering up the way his chest is constricting. This boy. This boy.

"No jokes," Louis says, and his thumb is still pressed to Nick's _Especially For You_ injury. Nick doesn't know if Louis even realises he's doing it. "I never thought I'd meet anyone who I thought might—who I thought might understand me." There's a whole _cavern_ of hidden meanings and secret passages and underground catacombs in that statement, but Nick doesn't delve too deeply. He’ll take what Louis gives him. Louis’s secrets are his own. He presses his mouth to Louis's temple instead. "I was just the boy people took home to fuck," Louis goes on. "We'd go out for drinks but that just meant going home for sex. No one's ever wanted to go out with me before." He shrugs. "I don't think I wanted anyone to. It's too many questions, innit?" He taps his finger against Nick's scar again, and Nick pulls him into a tight hug, water going everywhere. 

"I've never wanted to with anyone either," Nick confides, brushing a kiss to Louis's neck. "I've never been in a relationship before, not really. Just like… repeat fucks, maybe? I never wanted more. And then on a whim I walked into your caff, and now I can't imagine not being with you."

"Soppy," says Louis, but he blushes and tucks himself in closer. Nick shakes his head, smiling a little, in awe of how much his life has changed in just a few weeks.

"Honest," he corrects. "You mean a lot to me."

Louis takes a slow breath and lets it out again. "You mean a lot to me too," he murmurs, tugging Nick's arms around him tightly. "Everything, really. And you can, like. I know it's a lot of questions. I know you're like, curious. You can ask if you want."

Nick strokes Louis's belly, soothing. "Do you want me to?"

"No," Louis says, immediately, and he sounds a little apologetic and it makes Nick's chest ache.

"Then I won’t," says Nick. Louis turns to look at him properly and opens his mouth like he's going to argue. Nick cups his cheek and kisses him quiet. "I love you. Your past is your own. You being happy and stuff means everything to me. So long as you're okay. You can tell me whatever you want, whenever you want to, or you don't have to tell me anything at all."

"Nick…"

"I mean, obviously tell me _some_ things. Don't stop talking to me altogether, that would just be silly."

Louis rolls his eyes and covers Nick's mouth with his hand. "You know I’m fine, right? Properly, not lying. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me and these…" he trails off, moves his hand. He means _scars_. "It’s in the past."

"Okay," Nick says. 

"No, I mean it. I’ve had a lot of support. I’m not hiding things."

Nick nods, and laces his fingers with Louis’s. 

"Good," Louis says, firmly. "Love you." 

Nick smiles so wide it makes his face hurt. "I love you too."

"Good," Louis says again, in satisfaction. He still looks a bit flushed. Nick wants to kiss him until he's one hundred per cent comfortable again. He settles for drawing a heart with his fingertip on Louis's thigh. He's allowed to be a giant sap when he's on a romantic chalet break with the boy who might well turn out to be the love of his life. It's allowed. Louis’s certainly surpassed how Nick’s felt about anyone who’s come before. 

"You still want to come out for a proper date with me tomorrow night?" Nick asks, a minute or so later. Louis is curled up against his chest, lazily playing with one of Nick's nipples.

"Try and stop me," Louis says, sleepily. "I'm going to put my posh frock on and everything."

"I expect nothing less," Nick says. "I myself have a gold sequined number I'm planning on wearing. Floor length, strapless, you know. Perfect for my curves."

Louis huffs out a laugh. His eyes are closed. "I can't afford anything really fancy. Or fancy at all, really. Splashed out and got a shirt at Topman. You think they're going to let me in?"

"You'll be the best looking guy there," Nick tells him, kissing the top of his head. "Come on, you're going to sleep. Let's get out of here and go to bed."

"Too sleepy to dry myself," Louis whines. "You're going to have to do it. Especially if you're going to be my slave."

"Best to get the duties all laid out at the beginning, I agree," Nick says, but he's already urging Louis up and out of the bath, so they can both drip all over the bath mat whilst Nick searches out a couple of huge, snow-white, fluffy towels. "Come on, love. Let's go to bed."

"You have the best plans," Louis says, but he's half-asleep on his feet, Nick can tell. "If I just close my eyes, you'll make sure I get there safe and sound, right?"

"I will," Nick says, and he's saying _yes_ to a lot more than just getting Louis upstairs. He wonders if Louis knows. 

~*~

They sleep in the next morning, waking up late, tangled together in the sheets. Louis is gorgeous, splashed in bright alpine sunlight, hair a mess, eyes barely open. 

When he sees Nick he smiles, wide and sweet, and it's terrible how Nick fails to control his own wide, sleepy smile in response. 

"Good morning," Nick mumbles. He's never sexy in the morning, voice all rough. He leans in to kiss the corner of Louis's mouth, always a bit worried he's got terrible morning breath. 

"Morning," Louis yawns, stretching, cat-like, and then blinks his eyes open wider. "Oh, hey, snowboarding today?"

Nick huffs a laugh. He gulps down some of the water left in the glass by the side of the bed, then lies down again. That feels a bit better. Fresher. "Already?"

It's already nine o'clock. Louis nods and sits up, scratching idly at his belly, but then he looks down at Nick sprawled out naked on his back and wets his lips. Nick's half-hard — it's morning, he can't be held responsible for biology — and Louis's eyes slide straight down to Nick's cock. He swings one leg over Nick's legs to straddle him and wraps one of his hands round the base. Nick bites his lip, blood rushing south.

"Snowboarding can wait a bit. What kind of boyfriend would that make me if I just ignored your stiffy?"

"A truly terrible one," Nick agrees, rolling his eyes. He cups Louis's cheek, decides to ignore anything he's ever said about avoiding kissing first thing in the morning, and pulls him in for a kiss. 

Louis responds enthusiastically, licking into Nick's mouth, at his wet lips. He pins Nick down by the shoulder, bossy little thing that he is. Nick is sleepy and lethargic and more than willing to be bossed around for a bit. He bites gently at Louis's bottom lip and slides his hand down his side to his hip. 

"Important, isn't it, to help old people," Louis says. He rocks his hips a little, making a face. "Should get volunteer hours for this."

"Charitable of you," Nick says. Louis's a menace. He properly adores him. 

"I get something out of it, I suppose." He crawls up Nick's body so he can reach for the lube on the bedside table, and his cock and balls are right there in Nick's face. Nick kisses what he can reach of Louis's dick, then takes his balls into his mouth, one at a time, cupping Louis's arse. "Oh, shit," Louis swears, hardening up fast. Nick teases him for a bit, easing his finger over Louis's hole, until Louis pulls himself away, clearing his throat.

"All right?" Nick asks, affecting an innocent look.

"None of that, now," says Louis. "No fucking this morning. My arse needs a break."

Nick frowns, worried. "Are you—"

"I'm _fine_ , Nicholas. Just, like." His face flushes red. "I wanna tighten up again."

Jesus. Nick's dick throbs, and he slides his hands up Louis's back, sitting up so they're pressed chest to chest and cock to cock, and he can kiss Louis breathless. "You're really quite lovely," he tells him, kissing a bruise he left on his neck yesterday.

"Love you too," Louis says, smiling. He looks really very happy, and it does very queer, lovely things to Nick's insides. Louis kisses Nick's mouth, then his cheek, and then uncaps the lube and pours some into his hand. He reaches between them to get at Nick's dick, scooting back so he can see. He slicks Nick's cock up, wanking him nice and slow, and then caps the lube and climbs off him. "Wanna try that, uh, that like, thigh thing again."

"Thigh thing?" Nick asks, a little dazed from how good it feels to be so turned on. 

"Yeah, where you like, where you fucked my thighs. That was really hot."

"God," Nick says. "Yes, okay, let's do that."

Louis grins down at him. "Best idea, or best idea?"

"Best," Nick agrees. "Come here, love."

Louis laughs at that, clambering over him and covering Nick's mouth with his own. He tastes a little sleep-stale, but it turns out, contrary to popular opinion, that Nick quite likes that when it comes to Louis. Nick reaches for the lube and squirts some onto his palm. "I already did you," Louis reminds him, but Nick just grins. 

"Legs apart, brat."

Louis looks vaguely quizzical but obediently opens his legs. Nick lubes up his thighs, still so smooth and pretty. He wouldn't normally bother, because they probably don't need the extra lube, but he likes the idea of it being ridiculously slick. He just wants it wet and easy and slow and delicious. Louis doesn't complain, anyway, going onto his back with his legs apart, his lovely, fat cock leaking a little onto his belly. Then Nick urges him onto his side, and presses himself to the line of Louis's back, going to pinch Louis's nipples just because he can, just because he likes the little breathy whines Louis makes when he does it. Louis reaches behind him to lose a hand in Nick's hair. 

"Love you," Louis tells him, trying to press back against Nick's dick. 

Nick just kisses the back of his head and rubs his dick over the back of Louis's thighs, so that Louis whines again, and parts his legs. Nick juts his hips forward and tucks his dick into the gap between Louis's legs. "There," he says, and Louis squeezes his legs together, hot and slick around Nick's dick. He groans. 

"How does this feel so good?" Louis asks. "Surely it shouldn't feel so good."

Nick laughs at that, kissing his neck, mouthing at the bruise he'd left on Louis's throat. He rolls his hips up, slow and luxurious. He's not going to rush this, not for anything, and he shifts the angle so that Louis can tilt his chin up and meet Nick's mouth in a kiss. "Magic," he says. 

"Arse," Louis says, mid-kiss. It ends up muffled against Nick's mouth. 

Nick rolls his eyes, cups his cheek, and kisses him again.

It's so slow and slick and good. They find a slow rhythm, Nick's dick nudging Louis's perineum again and again, and Louis's whining quietly, so turned on, arse cheeks clenching as he makes his thighs tight around Nick's cock. It feels so good, and the kind of dirty that really gets Nick turned on.

"You feel so good. Your legs are so smooth, just slide right through." Nick mouths at Louis's neck. He pinches at Louis's nipples one at a time, and then slides his hand down to take Louis's cock in hand. It's all wet with pre come and Louis swears, gasps, rutting into Nick's hand.

"God, I don't even— You make me feel crazy," he pants. "Good crazy. So, I just—"

He can't seem to find the words so Nick kisses him again, smiling against Louis's lips. He licks into Louis's mouth and takes Louis's hand, pulls it down to wrap it around Louis's dick so he can guide him into touching himself. Louis wants to go fast, starts to wank off quick but Nick slows him down, wanks him in time with the slow thrusts of his cock.

They come together, the head of Nick's cock tucked right up against Louis's balls so he gets them so messy, all over his thighs and his cock. Louis cries out when he goes over the edge, spilling into their joined hands and onto the sheets. It's slow and hot and so good, pleasure so intense it lingers for a long time. They rock together, Louis's thighs milking Nick's dick until he's empty.

"Love you," Louis tells Nick. He gets his energy back too fast, rolls them over and kisses Nick everywhere. "Love you a lot. Snowboarding?"

Nick laughs out loud. "Yes, you menace. Get us a flannel to clean up and then we'll go snowboarding."

Louis cries out rather loudly in triumph, and kisses the tip of Nick's nose before scrambling up and into the bathroom. Nick watches him go, wondering how he got so fucking lucky.

Louis comes back and cleans them up carefully, and ever so gently, and he's just so kind, this boy of his, that sometimes Nick doesn't know what to do with himself. He settles for wrapping them both up in the huge, snowy dressing gowns that hang behind the door, and nudging Louis in the direction of the stairs, and breakfast.

They eat breakfast tangled up in each other on the sofa, Nick pouring them both coffee and holding the warm twists of fresh bread as Louis spreads them with jam. They eat most of the charcuterie plate without even noticing, and share an almond croissant whilst they finish off the coffee. It's so easy with Louis just to settle into each other like this, not even saying that much as they eat their breakfast. They shower together afterwards, Louis refusing to let Nick touch his dick, just in case they never actually get around to snowboarding. 

Nick laughs at that, and holds his hands up in the air. He kisses him instead, and washes his hair for him, Louis's chin tilted up in the spray for one more kiss after another. And afterwards, they shave side by side before getting dressed up to take to the slopes. 

Snowboarding is mental, as per usual. Nick likes adrenaline, but being strapped to a board with no brakes is cutting it rather close to the edge of acceptability. He likes his limbs in one piece, and prefers skiing, but Louis is in his element, whooshing past him pretending he's like something off of the Olympics. He looks so good here, out on the slopes, all kitted out. He's so handsome, and Nick's so lost in admiring him he ends up going arse over tit in the middle of the slope, meaning that Louis ends up peering down at him and doubtfully asking if he's okay. 

"Fine," Nick lies. "It's not my fault your arse is distracting."

Louis waggles his eyebrows, and tugs Nick back up so that he's standing. "Let's go again," he says, and because his boyfriend is relentlessly happy when he's unstoppable, Nick agrees even though he's rather had his fill of snowboarding, and wouldn't mind a coffee and a sit down. Whatever, Louis is keeping him young. 

Afterwards, when they're coming off the slope, Louis tucks his hand into Nick's elbow. "Can you drop me off in town for a bit?" he asks, studiously avoiding Nick's gaze. "I want to do a bit of shopping before we go out tonight."

Nick looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do a bit of shopping?"

Louis huffs. " _Yes_ , Nicholas, I know you've heard of it."

Nick laughs, pulling Louis close to his side and kissing his head through his hat. "By yourself?"

"I'm perfectly capable of shopping on my own. Maybe I want to buy you a present."

"I don't need any presents," Nick tells him, gentle. Louis sticks his tongue out.

"That doesn't matter. I want to go to town."

Nick smiles. "All right, I need to pick up some things for a few people at work, so I'll come in with you and leave the car to take you back to the chalet when you're ready. Sound good?"

Louis smiles, stops walking and kisses Nick. "Thank you."

They shower all the sweat away and then get dressed and get a car into town. Nick is so very curious indeed, and has to bite his tongue to keep from offering Louis his credit card to use, but Louis looks smug and pleased and excited, so Nick leaves him to it. 

"I'll probably just be a few minutes in the gift shop, and then I'm going back to take a nap," he tells Louis once they've arrived in town. "I'll send the car back to wait for you afterwards."

"Old men need to rest after activities such as walking and sitting," says Louis. Nick pinches him very lightly on the arm and Louis smiles. That innocent look on his face is bewitching. He's such a menace. 

"Definitely need a break after snowboarding with you, you brat. Falling on my arse repeatedly. If you find me sleeping with a hot water bottle on my bum don't disturb it."

"I wouldn't dare," says Louis, laughing. 

Nick kisses him again. "Go on, then."

"I might be a few hours," Louis tells him.

"Take your time, love. This is our week, you can do anything you like and take as long as you like. Car will just be waiting for you. Call if there's a problem."

Louis nods, pocketing his phone and his keys and giving Nick one last quick peck on the cheek. "See you, babe."

Nick watches him go, and once he's out of sight he goes into a gift shop, different than the one they last visited, to get a few souvenirs for his friends. He spends too much money, as he's wont to do, on nonsense bits and pieces and chocolates and cigars for Reggie, the head of his legal team who has been splendid in this newspaper acquisition process. He gets a couple of other things, and when he's done, he takes the car back to the chalet.

It's so big and empty now that he's alone, and he's pleasantly weary after a morning of snowboarding. He eats a sandwich for lunch then goes upstairs, strips down, and climbs into bed. He doesn't wake up again for two hours, when an extra weight shifts the bed. Louis's home.

He kisses Nick on the forehead. 

"Hi," Nick says, sleepily. "How was shopping?"

"Good," Louis says. He curls into Nick's arms, still fully dressed, and nips at the end of Nick's nose with his teeth. "How was your afternoon nap, old man?"

"Cheeky," Nick says, kissing the corner of his mouth. He yawns, rubbing at his eyes with his hands. "It was great. Get everything you wanted?"

"Yes, thank you," Louis says, clearly not intending to give anything away. 

"Where are your bags?"

"I hid them," Louis says. He smiles, and tucks himself in even closer. "Missed you."

"Missed you too," Nick says, and he shouldn't be surprised that that's the truth, considering, but he still is. A couple of hours apart and he's more than ready to have Louis tucked in against his side again. God knows what it's going to be like, going back home and not having Louis with him every second of every day. 

"I brought you some chocolate," Louis says, reaching behind him. "I ate some. But I've made us both tea."

"Of course," Nick says. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Louis offers him a piece of Swiss chocolate. "Share?"

"Go on then."

They end up curled up in bed together, flicking through the TV channels lazily, neither of them making a move to get up, even when they run out of tea. Nick tells Louis all about the first time Collette took him skiing, and insisted on teaching him herself, and Louis tells him about his school skiing trip in return. Learning with Collette had been a glorious, unmitigated disaster, but at least it hadn't involved getting shitfaced on schnapps and it being so cold his vomit had frozen. Nick prefers his first time to Louis's. 

It's only when they've watched a good hour of random crap on the telly, never settling on anything for more than a few minutes, when Louis pulls away and clambers to his feet. He's flushed. "I'm going to get ready for our date," he says. "And don't ask me what I'm wearing, because I'm not telling you."

"Won't I see you getting dressed?" Nick asks, propping himself up on his elbows. 

"Nope," Louis says. "We're getting dressed separately. You can meet me downstairs, and see me then."

Nick grins at that. "Someone's in charge tonight."

"I'm in charge every night, mister," Louis says, which is charming. He darts in to kiss Nick on the cheek. "I'll see you downstairs at 6:45, and no earlier."

Nick laughs. "I'll arrange a car for us, then." 

"Fucking right you will," Louis says, and heads for the wardrobe. 

He waits until Louis's disappeared down the stairs before he pushes back the covers and goes to get ready himself. 

He takes his time, washing and conditioning his hair, using liberal amounts of shower gel for no good reason other than he kind of wants everything to be perfect. He air dries, and then pulls on pants, a pair of trousers, a black shirt, tie, and a charcoal pinstripe waistcoat. He fusses with his hair before pulling on socks and shoes, and at 6:44 grabs his wallet and keys and goes downstairs.

Louis is late, naturally, but only by a few minutes. He comes downstairs while Nick is finishing a glass of water, and clears his throat. Nick turns around from where he's standing at the counter, and his breath catches in his throat. Louis's dressed in black trousers and a pair of lovely brown brogues. He's wearing a light knit black jumper underneath a grey blazer, and his hair is tufted up into a quiff that makes him look handsome and perfect.

He's dressed up for Nick. He clearly wanted to look good, and _God_ , but he looks good. He must've spent a small fortune this afternoon, far more than a uni student working in a caff should, and Nick is so touched and fond he barely knows what to do with his hands. Louis's cheeks are a bit red. 

Louis clears his throat again, pushing his hands into his trouser pockets. "You look really good," he says, eyeing Nick up and down, which is flattering but Nick must look like nothing next to him.

"You—God, Louis, c'mere."

Louis slouches over, deliberately making a face. He can't hide his smile though, and it looks shy. Louis looks shy.

Nick takes his hands and spreads his arms open, getting a good look at him. "You look amazing, love. Just. I don't even know what to say."

Louis laughs, embarrassed, goes to swipe his hair off his forehead but it's not there. It's so sweet Nick can't help but smile. "Do I look okay?" 

God, this boy. This perfect, beautiful boy. "You look perfect."

"I didn't know what to get," Louis says. "I didn't want to show you up."

Nick pulls him in and presses his mouth to Louis's forehead. "Love," he says, slowly. "You couldn't. But you look amazing."

"Good," Louis says, still embarrassed. He tucks his hand into Nick's. The car is waiting outside for them, and Nick holds the doors open for Louis, the two of them shivering and bumping into each other as they jump in and out of the cold. Louis slides right into Nick's side, and drops his hand to Nick's knee. He looks straight ahead. "I really love you, okay? I really, really love you. I know how early it is for us, and how we're like, in this bubble here or whatever, but it doesn't change how I feel."

Nick covers Louis's hand with his own, lacing his fingers with Louis's. "I know it's soon to feel like this, but, like, since we're doing the declarations thing, and everything, Louis—" he brings their joined hands up to his mouth, and kisses Louis's hand. "I'd do anything for you. Just so you know."

Louis laughs, but he sounds a little shaky. "Would you jump off a cliff?"

"I love heights," Nick lies. 

Louis elbows him. "How about sky diving?"

"Absolutely," Nick lies, since he's never fucking sky diving. Well, unless Louis needed him to. 

"Abseiling down the Eiffel Tower." 

"Just give me a date and a time."

Louis laughs again, and leans in to rest his cheek against Nick's shoulder. "Thanks," he says, softly. "For this week."

"Any time," Nick tells him, and he means it. 

The restaurant is terribly exclusive, ridiculously expensive, and Nick doesn't want to know what Margaret had to do to get them a table tonight. They do, however, have to drive a little way to get there, as it's on the way to Geneva, set back in what is—when it's not ski season—apparently orchards. The maître d' sits them at a table with a beautiful view over the snowy hilltops, far enough away from the other diners that it feels terribly private. 

Louis is handsome and a little nervous, keeping close to Nick's side until they sit down. 

The menu is entirely in French, and Louis wrinkles his nose at his first glance down at it. 

"I'm not having foie gras and I'm not having caviar," Louis says, probably picking out the only recognisable words from the starters. 

Nick bumps his ankle into Louis's. "One of the other ones is frogs legs. You probably don't want that one, either."

"No way," Louis says. 

"The other options are crab or lobster."

Louis looks considering. "I might try the lobster," he says. "You'll have to tell me how to eat it though." 

"Okay," Nick says. He points at the main courses. "That one's lamb and vegetables and mashed potatoes and gravy, or there's—"

"I want that," Louis says immediately. "I love mashed potatoes."

Nick just laughs, and resolves to order the same for himself, too. He chooses a wine, and orders their starters and mains, and afterwards, lets Louis reach for his hand across the table and tangle their fingers together. 

"This place is amazing," Louis says. "Is it really over a hundred euro just for a main course?"

"Might be," Nick says, and chooses not to point out that's just for the lamb, and not the vegetables. 

"This is the poshest place I've ever eaten," Louis says, in wonder. "Not that we ever ate out that much. Been to McDonalds a few times."

Nick grew up reasonably well off, and he can't really imagine not having any money. "Tell me about your family," he says, and something shutters in Louis's gaze. "Your mum and your sisters, right?" Nick says, to cover it up. "Tell me about your sisters."

Louis relaxes a bit, playing with Nick's fingers, his face softening immediately at the thought of his family. "My mum is a midwife, so I've always been around babies. She delivered Harry, did you know?"

Nick laughs. "No, I didn't know. How old were you?"

"One," says Louis. "I wasn't there, but we're bonded forever over it. Think he moved down here the same day he finished his last A Level exam. Had a space for him in the flat all waiting and everything. Not that he wasn't spending most of his time legging it up and down the country on National Express all last year anyway. He says he can't do his coursework if he's not sitting on a coach now. I'd be vomming everywhere. Whenever I went home I couldn't do any of my work on the coach. Read a bit, maybe." He shrugs. "Dunno why I didn't just have a year out and stay at home and wait for him to finish his exams so we could have moved down together, but it's worked out all right."

"Course it did," Nick says. "You're brothers."

"Exactly. Anyway, I've got the four sisters, you know. Daisy and Phoebe are six and they look even more identical now than they did when they were babies. I told my mum she should tattoo _Thing 1_ and _Thing 2_ on the bottom of their feet."

"Would be helpful," Nick agrees.

"I think so. So do Daisy and Pheebs, they're all about it. I've never been big on tattoos, really, but I've been thinking about getting one lately." He blushes, and Nick smiles, squeezing his hand and taking a sip of his wine.

"Oh? What would you get?" he asks once he's swallowed.

Louis shrugs, looking away, embarrassed. "I don't know. Maybe like a triangle first? Nice shape, a triangle. Don't know if it would suit me anyway. My skin is so pretty already, innit?"

"The prettiest," Nick agrees, just as he's supposed to. "Just flawless."

Louis hooks his ankle around Nick's, grinning, and it's just so easy to be around him, it feels so natural and good and _right_. Nick's never been so comfortable with anyone, and he's a people person, he's comfortable with everyone, but no one has ever fit into his life like Louis has. No one has ever changed his life and his perspective like Louis has. Nick wonders if Louis has any idea at all.

"What about the other two?"

"Félicité is eleven, and getting really into like, girly things. Make up and stuff, and mum reckons she's too young but that just makes her want to wear it more."

Nick laughs. "My friend, the one who dressed up to shoot music videos with me, she did that too. She was so bad at it, though, she wore so much eye makeup, looked a bit like a clown, but she just loved it."

Louis smiles. "Yeah, Fizz is pretty good at it, actually. She can do it real like, subtle-like? Lottie though, the older one—she's thirteen—she gets frustrated 'cos Fizzy's picked it up so quick. Lottie's mad on makeup, wants to be a makeup artist or something. But, like, Fizzy is _really_ good at everything she tries. But, like, I actually am up at night worrying about them sometimes, because Fizzy is so clever but she's so shy and sensitive. Lottie's more of an extrovert but she gets frustrated and snappy sometimes. I think they can get jealous of each other, but I don't want it to get worse because they're like, getting older and they're at that age, you know? I want them to be there for each other. So they're not on their own. So they never have to deal with anything on their own." 

Nick knows that that means more than just Louis worried about his little sisters. He strokes the pad of his thumb over Louis's palm. 

"They're both going through so much right now, what with my dad…" He trails off, biting his lip.

Nick frowns. "Love?"

"Sorry," Louis says. "I didn't mean to, like. This is a happy night. It's not, like. You don't need to hear all this."

"I'll listen to anything you want to tell me, babe," Nick tells him. "Honestly, anything."

Louis smiles, looking touched but also a bit apologetic. He shrugs, releasing Nick's hand so he can take a drink. "My, um. My parents are getting a divorce. I don't think I've told you, it's like. It's kind of recent. They've been having trouble for about a year now, and they've been separated for a bit, but they like, officially decided just before we got together."

Nick is officially confused, since he'd been fairly sure that Louis's constant omission of _dad_ in his stories had more to do with his scars than anything else, but this is—this is new. "Love," he says. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Louis shrugs a little awkwardly. "You didn't sign up for my crap," he says, which is rubbish. 

Nick rolls his eyes. "I signed up for everything," he says. "I especially signed up for big things like this. Things which, you know, upset you especially."

Louis goes pink. "All right. Suppose."

Nick reaches over and takes Louis's hand again. "I'm really sorry," he says. "How's everyone taking it?"

"I dunno," Louis says. "I haven't been home properly. Lottie just says it's good they're not arguing any more but Dad's moved out, which has to be weird. It's not like they've ever—" he clears his throat. "Everyone's sad," he says. "I phone them up and everyone's sad, and it's rubbish."

"Have you been talking to your dad?" Nick asks. 

There's an odd kind of flicker to Louis's gaze that Nick can't quite parse. "A bit," he says. "I'm mostly a mummy's boy, though."

Nick smiles at that, squeezing Louis's hand. The starters arrive then, and the next few minutes are spent watching Louis gingerly poking at his food before giving it a hesitant try. 

"As good as fish fingers?" Nick asks. 

"Hmm," Louis says. "I suppose." He looks like he's enjoying it, at least. "So, your turn. Tell me about growing up a Grimshaw."

Nick rolls his eyes. "Nothing to it, really. I've got one older sister and older brother, Jane and Andy, and that was enough for my mum and dad for years and years until I came along."

"What, really?"

"My mum used to call me her little afterthought," Nick grins. He'd always felt quite fond of his nickname. "So yes, I came along as an afterthought, and I was the baby of the family until my sister got pregnant and had my niece, Liv, and then she took over being the baby."

"I'm sure you took that very gracefully," Louis says. 

"Oi. I did. Liv's brilliant, anyway. My mum was an actuary, and my dad was in insurance, and then they decided to go into business together in, what, '81? '82, maybe? Anyway, it was the eighties, so they made shedloads of cash, and put me in a dead posh high school when that came around, but before that it was all sort of normal, you know? It wasn't like this magical rich childhood with my own unicorn to ride to school, or anything. They just got lucky."

"And you got luckier."

Nick shrugs. "Yeah," he says. "Right time, right place, and a fuck load of hard work. I missed out on a massive coke problem by about a whisker. Don't think I slept for the whole second half of the '90s. Don't do drugs, it turns you into a fucking robot."

Louis laughs at that, and offers Nick the remains of his lobster. "You haven't told me anything I couldn't get off of the introduction to your latest GQ interview, or fucking Wikipedia. Tell me something real."

"Something real," Nick repeats, tapping at his bottom lip. "Well, when I was younger, really, from the time I was old enough to know what it was, I wanted to be a DJ."

"Like in clubs?" Louis asks.

"Sure, yeah, mixing would be good, but really I wanted to be on the radio. Radio 1, actually. I had all these notebooks where I wrote up scripts like I was the host of the Breakfast Show on Radio 1. Wrote them for years."

Louis looks like he's trying not to smile, and then he lets it loose and Nick rolls his eyes, flushing, and Louis laughs. He looks fucking delighted. "God, Nick, that's so cute."

"It's a perfectly reasonable career path," Nick argues.

"I know," Louis says, still laughing. "Just you wanting it for that long."

"Still do, if I'm honest," says Nick wistfully. "The dream that wouldn't die."

"Why didn't you do it, then?" Louis asks. Nick laughs.

"You make it sound so easy, love."

Louis gives him an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? Look at what you've become. You're so good at everything you try, Nick. You could've done."

He's touched by Louis's faith in him, and he can't help but smile, laughing again when Louis puts something in his mouth and makes a face, but forces himself to swallow. Maybe they accidentally got a frog leg. "Well," he says thoughtfully. "I wanted to go to uni and study it…communications and broadcasting, you know? But my dad made it quite clear that he wanted me to go into business, and they'd just… they did so much for me and were so great, I didn't want to disappoint him."

"Oh, Nick."

"No, no, it's not sad. Look at where I am? I've got another sort of dream job. I get to work with clothes and models and television and a million other things. It's bloody amazing; it's all fucking great. Totally excellent luck."

"A little luck," says Louis, feeding Nick a bit of lobster. Nick takes it, and licks the tip of Louis's fingers before he can pull them away. Louis smiles. He's so lovely. "But mostly really hard work."

"A fair bit," Nick agrees.

Louis taps Nick's jaw before pulling his hand back. "I'm glad that cocaine habit didn't get you."

"Me and you both, love."

Their waiter comes over to clear away their starters, and once he's gone, Louis shuffles his chair round a bit so that he can tuck his fingers into Nick's. "This coke habit," Louis starts. "It wasn't bad, was it?"

Nick shrugs. "It was the '90s. The fashion scene was intense. I was getting my name known. I wanted to be everywhere and friends with everyone and I was working too. There had to be some way of getting through the day without dying of exhaustion."

"What happened?" 

"I stopped going to parties held by people I didn't know, and hosted my own instead. Concentrated on my proper friends. Focused on work. Stopped wanting it all and started wanting other stuff instead."

"Like what?"

"To expand," Nick says. "I didn't just want the fashion house. I wanted to represent the models, and I wanted to get into TV, and I wanted to do high street fashion as well as high end. So I did less coke and concentrated on the agency, and replicating what Top Shop were doing, and then we bought the rights to the _Next Top Model_ format before it was hot, and ran with that."

"And now you're the head of a massive company that runs everything."

Nick makes a face. "I worked so hard to get here, you have no idea. But now? It's weird. We have all these divisions and they all kind of run themselves. I have directors for each arm of the company, and each bit runs autonomously, almost. So, uh, here's the real thing you won't see in GQ: I've got less to do now than I've had in the last twenty years."

"You're busy all the time," Louis points out, which isn't wrong. 

"Yeah," Nick says. "But I'm so far removed from the day to day stuff, you have no idea. I feel like I haven't had anything to sink my teeth into in ages. It's just the same thing, over and over again."

"You need a new project," Louis says, and he pours Nick another glass of stupendously expensive wine. Even by Nick's standards, the wine is stupendously expensive, which means it really does cost an arm and a leg. 

"I'm trying to buy a newspaper," Nick admits. 

Louis rolls his eyes. "You're not going to run it, though, are you? You're just going to own it. You need to find something exciting again."

"Maybe," Nick says, and it's surprising how much of what Louis is saying is news to him, even though it seems obvious. He hadn't told anyone before now that he was feeling sort of... stuck at work. Who could he tell? Who wouldn't just _boo-hoo_ him? 

"Don't worry," Louis says after an interruption from their waiter who's brought their main courses. It smells absolutely incredible, and even Louis, who manages to look incredibly unimpressed by everything Nick's tried to feed him thus far, is breathing in deep to savour the scent of the lamb. He clears his throat and looks at Nick again. "You've got loads of ideas all the time, don't you? You'll find a new project, something that's just yours. Who knows, maybe you can host the Radio 1 Breakfast Show two times a week, yeah?"

Nick snorts, lifting his fork and knife to cut into the lamb. "Yeah, 'course. Just a small part-time gig. Think Radio 1 might have a problem with that."

"Tch, fuck 'em," says Louis, shrugging, and Nick laughs again.

As far as dates go, it's probably the best one Nick's ever been on…since his last date with Louis, in any case. They chat about their families a bit more, and then about work and uni. Both carefully steer clear of the fact that they only have one more full day after this one, their flight early the morning after that. It makes Nick's chest tight just thinking about it, the end of their perfect holiday.

When they're finished eating, their waiter provides them with the dessert menu. Louis's eyes go huge as Nick translates, and he has so much trouble deciding which he likes that Nick orders one of each, their waiter staring oddly at them. Nick just smiles serenely, and Louis laughs once they're alone again. 

"You're like, actually the best, d'you know?"

"I try," says Nick, taking Louis's hand again and bringing it up to his lips to kiss the knuckles.

"You giant sap," Louis says, but his eyes are shining.

"Hey," Nick says. "How do you fancy doing a little bit of late night shopping before we go to a club? We're almost in Geneva."

Louis makes a face. "What kind of shopping?"

"Oh, you know," Nick says. "The kind that needs an appointment."

"No shopping requires an appointment," Louis says. "At least no shopping I've ever done. Is it different in fabulously wealthy land?"

"Sometimes," Nick says. "Are you going to let me buy you a present, or not?"

"Is it going to cost more than this holiday?"

Louis has no idea how much this holiday has cost. Thankfully. "Probably not. Maybe about the same."

Louis mulls it over for a minute. "Okay," he says. "Just so long as you know you don't have to buy stuff. I've got stuff. I can buy myself things." He looks down at his jacket and his beautiful sweater. 

"I know," Nick says, even though he's fairly sure Louis has no way of affording what he's bought today. He's going to have to think this one through. Nick can throw money around and Louis can't; it's just the way things are. He doesn't want Louis to be out of pocket just because Nick's in love with him. "And you look fucking amazing."

Louis just grins at that, and then he leans in to kiss the corner of Nick's mouth. "I'm very glad you walked into my caff that day, you know."

"Yeah," Nick says, because he feels too off-kilter to come back with anything smart and funny. He's just glad, that's it. 

The desserts, when they arrive, look amazing. There's one that's caramel with ice cream and cocoa beans, and another one that looks like pure liquid chocolate, and a praline and chocolate sorbet, and a white chocolate mousse, and an orange caramel. Louis looks like he's died and gone to heaven. He eats one spoonful of each, and then feeds Nick one spoonful of each, and maybe they're making a spectacle of themselves, but Nick just can't bring himself to care. He's paying for the privilege of eating dessert after dessert with his beautiful, handsome, amazing boyfriend, the snow-capped hills outside the window glittering in the moonlight, and when they're done here, Nick's going to take Louis into Geneva and buy him the most beautiful watch he can find. And then he's going to dance away the night with him, pressed close together in a club, and he can't fucking wait. 

Nick pays the tab once they're done, snagging it quickly before Louis can see it and handing the waiter his credit card. Louis is relaxed, two glasses of wine in, and he can't seem to tear his eyes off Nick. It's flattering, and humbling, and Nick loves him so much it aches inside a bit. 

They leave the restaurant hand-in-hand, and spend the drive to Geneva with the divider up in their car and Louis straddling Nick's lap whilst they snog. Louis's such a good kisser, his mouth so soft, and he's delightfully bossy. He cups Nick's face in his hands and licks into his mouth, and Nick strokes both his hands down Louis's back to cup his arse. It's hot and good and they pull away from each other reluctantly when they pull up outside the shop.

It's a lovely little shop nestled in the corner of a square, in-between an estate agent's and a high-end boutique with nothing attractive in the window. Nick knows quality, and that's all fur coat and no knickers. 

When Nick presses the buzzer outside their shop, though, there's a severe-looking woman waiting for them. When she smiles, though, her face softens and the sharp edges fade.

"Mr Grimshaw?" she asks, stepping away from the door. "And Mr Tomlinson. Welcome."

"Hi, hiya," Nick says, shaking her hand. "Ms Cassel, thank you so much for agreeing to this."

"No trouble at all," she says, stepping aside to let them in. Her English is prettily accented, but immaculate. 

Louis's a bit uncomfortable, sticking close. He's probably never been into a jewellery shop quite so nice before. Nick puts an arm around his waist as they follow Ms Cassel inside. Louis looks around with wide eyes. There's gems everywhere, an engagement ring the size of Nick's hand in the display up front and a gorgeous rare jade necklace in a red velvet setting. None of the pieces have prices, which Nick is glad for, because if Louis knew the cost he'd never allow Nick to buy him anything. 

Ms Cassel leads them over to a display of watches, and Nick puts his hand on the small of Louis's back, guiding him up close to the glass. "You're going to buy me a watch?" Louis asks. He doesn't generally wear watches, but Nick knows that. He ducks his head to kiss Louis's temple, and then whispers in his ear.

"Something you'll wear for me, darling. Like your collar, mm? Says you're mine."

Louis swallows hard, fingers curling into Nick's waistcoat. He tucks himself in closer to Nick's side and looks wide-eyed at the display.

"Are there any you like, sir?" Ms Cassel asks, directing her question towards Louis, which Nick quite likes. He doesn't often think about how people treat him in shops or restaurants, because money talks, and he's got enough that he can talk as loudly as he likes, but he's aware of it when it's Louis. He notices how people look at Louis, and how they talk to him, and how they judge him. 

"I don't know," Louis says, clearly a bit overwhelmed. "All of them are nice."

Nick wraps an arm around Louis's waist from behind, and kisses the back of his neck. "Let's try some on." He eyes the selection, and picks out one with a black leather strap and a clock face with so much clockwork on show it looks like something from outer space. "Try this one first?"

"Is that the one you like?" Louis asks. He sounds hesitant.

"Nah," Nick says, even though he does. "Just a random one."

Ms Cassel takes them into another room then, a sumptuously decorated, rich, dark red room with sofas and champagne and tiny truffles on little delicate plates. Louis curls into Nick's side and feeds him a truffle whilst Ms Cassel brings him in a selection of watches on a dark velvet tray. Louis tries them all on, but can't make a decision. He likes the leather straps and the silver faces, but he doesn't like the ones that are overly fancy or jewelled or have all of their clockwork on show. 

"It's like a car accident," Louis says. "All of their insides spilling out."

Nick nudges him at that. "Brat," he says, and Louis bumps his hip into Nick's. 

It takes an hour, and the best part of the bottle of champagne before Louis picks out the watch he wants. The strap is a dark, dark blue, the face silver, a tiny disc in the centre of the face counting down the seconds with intricate clockwork. Nick takes the one he picked out first, the one with the mass of clockwork and the black strap. Together, the two watches cost more than the week in the chalet, but Nick is careful not to give any indication that Louis's new watch costs about twice his annual salary, if not more. He can only make a vague guess at Louis's income, but he hands over his card without flinching. They'll pick the watches up on the way to the airport, once the payment has been confirmed. Nick can understand the hesitance, especially considering the cost. He'll email Margaret in the morning and get the insurance set up for them both. 

Ms Cassel sends them on their way with a box full of the pretty, delicate truffles. Louis eats half of them on the way to the club, kneeling over Nick in the back of the car and kissing him over and over. "Thank you so much," he says, offering Nick a bite of his truffle. "The watches were beautiful."

"I wanted you to have something that said you were mine," Nick tells him, hands to the small of Louis's back, tugging him closer. "Tell everyone you belong to me."

"I do," Louis says, in satisfaction, leaning down to kiss him again. "I belong to you."

They can't keep their hands off each other after that. When they arrive at the club they walk in practically glued together, Louis pulled to Nick's chest, smiling against each other's skin. 

The dance floor is so crowded, so they take a few minutes at the bar to get drinks. "Tequila," Louis yells at the barman, over the heavy beat of the music.

"Are you sure?" Nick asks, pressing his mouth to Louis's ear to make sure he can be heard. "I'm a bit old for tequila shots. You might be carrying me home."

"Don't worry," says Louis, patting Nick's chest, gesturing to the barman for another round already. "I'll take care of you, old man."

They do three shots each, and they're both well past drunk when they finally stumble onto the dance floor. The music is shit, some weird Europop nonsense that's bouncy and has everyone around them jumping. It's so loud and full of lights and smoke from the smoke machine, and even though the music is fast and silly, Nick and Louis press close together, Louis's arms wrapped around Nick's neck and Nick's hands on his bum. They're both vaguely hard because of the proximity, and Nick, wasted, has the delicious thought of taking Louis right here. He wants to strip him down 'til he's naked and pin him to the column in the corner of the dance floor and fuck him, wants everyone to see him take Louis like that, open him up, dick into him, make him come. He feels so possessive and needy at the same time, his mind spinning. He grips Louis's chin to tilt his head up and kiss him.

It's a good kiss. Louis's fingers curl into Nick's hair and Nick gets a leg between his thighs. Louis whines quietly, mouthing down Nick's jaw, back up to his ear. He slides his hands down Nick's sides and then up his front, thumbing over both of Nick's nipples. "Nick," he murmurs, his voice husky. They've been in the club for barely an hour. "Take me home, yeah?"

Nick cups Louis's face in his hands. He's drunk, deliciously so, and only half on the wine and the champagne and the tequila. "All right," he says. He leans in to kiss him, covering Louis's mouth with his own, Louis meeting him greedily, going up on his tiptoes, fingers brushing Nick's nipples through his shirt. Nick nips at his bottom lip and then shifts so that he can whisper in Louis's ear. "Anyone ever go down on you in a moving vehicle before?"

Louis shivers, and when Nick pulls back, he's flushed. His eyes are so, so bright. "No," he says, making a grab for Nick's hand. "Will you—"

Nick just nods, any sense of public decency thrown out the window at this gorgeous boy in his arms. They push through the crowds of people on the dance floor, and they wait just inside the doors for the car to pull up in front of the club, Louis tucked in against his front, his erection hidden from the bouncers only by virtue of the fact they're hugging so tight. 

"Love you, Louis," he says softly, mouth pressed to the shell of Louis's ear, and Louis shivers, hugging him harder. It's been a day of no games, just the two of them together, and it's been lovely from start to finish. He doesn't want to go back to real life. He doesn't want to go back to Louis sleeping anywhere other than by his side. He just wants this, him and his boy. 

Louis pulls away a little, enough to curl his small hand into Nick's hair, and tilt their foreheads together. "Love you," he says, breath warm against Nick's mouth. "Think you're fucking brilliant."

When the car pulls up outside, they settle in the backseat, Louis in Nick's lap, and they're kissing before the car even pulls away from the kerb. The privacy screen is up, and it's just them together in the back, no interruptions. Nick undoes the top button of Louis's trousers, and then the zip. He bats Louis's hand away when Louis goes to help, and kisses him again even as he's pushing Louis's underwear out of the way and cupping Louis's lovely, hard prick in his hand. 

"You're lovely," he tells Louis, still drunk, and Louis kisses him again, even as Nick's playing with him, lazily stroking him as the car makes its way out of Geneva and back towards their resort and their chalet. He lays Louis out along the seat, and kneels down on the floor so that he can lick at the tip of Louis's dick, before taking him all in. He knows just how to make Louis whimper now, knows what he likes and where to touch him and when he can graze him with his teeth. Louis is trying to be quiet but Nick doesn't want that. He laces his fingers in Louis's, and brings his hand up to tighten in Nick's hair. "Be as loud as you want, baby. You're all mine. You're mine and I want everyone to know."

Louis cries out at that. His dick is a fat, delicious weight in Nick's mouth and Nick wants to keep him here, noisy and unable to stay still, and drunk and all Nick's, forever. 

"God, _Daddy_ ," Louis sobs, as Nick swallows him down. "Please, don't stop. Suck me."

Nick presses Louis down into the seat with one hand, stopping his hips from bucking up. His lovely, brilliant boy. He can taste how close Louis is to coming, and he fucking loves how responsive he is, how needy and desperate and willing. How he's Nick's, all of him, every last breath, and how Nick's so happy he can't fucking see straight. 

Louis comes loudly, sobbing his need into the quiet of the car, and Nick stays where he is, sucking Louis off until he's soft in Nick's mouth, trembling and shaking and pulling at Nick's hair. 

Afterwards, Louis clambers into Nick's lap and tucks his face into Nick's shoulder, Nick's arms around his waist. 

"Thank you," Louis says softly, mouth grazing Nick's skin. "For asking me out that day. For changing everything."

"Should be thanking you," Nick tells him, his hand sliding under Louis's new jumper until he can rest his hand against the warmth of Louis's skin. "For making me this happy. Probably not for making me this much of a sap, though."

Louis huffs a laugh at that. He's pliant in Nick's arms, curled up against him, and the movement of the car has Nick getting sleepy too, the alcohol and their evening and the late hour starting to catch up with him. 

"You're all mine," Louis tells him. He sounds sleepy. Nick wouldn't be surprised if both of them were asleep by the time they got back to the chalet. "Mine, mine, mine."

Nick pats him on the thigh. "Yeah, love," he says, and means it more than anything. "I really, really am."

~*~

Nick wakes up to Louis poking him in the side. 

"Morning," Louis says, quite happily for someone who should at least have some semblance of hangover, if the world was in any way fair. 

"Nrgh," Nick manages, because the world's not fair and his head hurts. 

Louis makes a face. "Does someone have a hangover? Does someone's head hurt because they're an old man who can't drink like he used to?"

"Oh my god," Nick says, and promptly pulls the covers up and over his head. "I hate you."

"You do not," Louis says, sitting on his legs. There's a pause. "Suppose you won't want the cup of tea I just made you, then. Or the drugs."

Nick emerges from his cocoon. "Fizzy fizzy make nice?"

Louis wrinkles his nose. "Paracetamol," he says, a little uncertainly. "What the fuck's _fizzy fizzy make nice_?"

"Alka seltzer," Nick says but he reaches for the paracetamol and the tea anyway, knocking them back. His stomach's rolling. "I hate tequila."

Louis smoothes Nick's hair away from his forehead. "You didn't hate it last night."

"Didn't hate much of anything last night," Nick says, remembering how nice Louis's body had felt curled up in his lap in the back of the car. "Are you sure you don't feel a little bit hungover? Even a tiny bit?"

"Pretty sure, yes." Louis keeps stroking Nick's hair. It feels nice. Comforting. "You should try and sleep a bit more, Daddy."

"What are you going to do?"

"See if I can walk in on the housekeeping staff naked, I don't know. Finish writing my postcards."

"Don't walk in on them naked. Actually, they shouldn't even be here unless we tell them to be—"

"I was joking. It's fine. I'll write my postcards and watch the telly. You have a sleep."

Nick kisses Louis's palm. "All right."

Louis is already pulling the duvet up and tucking Nick in. Nick hasn't been looked after in a very long time. It's nice, especially when Louis kisses his forehead. "Love you," he says.

Nick curls up under the covers and hopes for death. Or, failing that, to wake up again free from his hangover. 

~*~

He wakes up later on and doesn’t feel quite as much like death, which is nice. The paracetamol and the couple of hours of extra sleep have worked their magic. He still considers drowning himself in the shower, but rather than give into it, he turns the water temperature up as high as he can stand, then spends twenty minutes letting it pound him into something resembling human form. Afterwards, he finds tracksuit bottoms and socks and a hoodie of Louis's that's large on Louis and just about the right size for Nick. It smells like Louis, which is a remarkably nice thing to discover he likes, and then he traipses all the way downstairs to beg some sympathy off of Louis, and maybe a hug and a cup of tea. 

He finds Louis in one of the sitting rooms, swamped by a gigantic sofa that they'd clearly missed on their previous adventures in chalet exploration, little pile of postcards on the table next to him. He'd only found Louis by following the noise of the telly, and when he curls up on the sofa with his nose pressed to Louis's bicep, he doesn't miss the look of delight on Louis's face. 

"I get to look after you for once," he says, running his fingers through Nick's wet hair. "Has the nasty hangover fucked off now?"

"You're a menace," Nick says, a trifle pathetically. He opens one eye. "Might feel better for a cup of coffee, though."

There's a knowing edge to Louis's sympathetic grin. "It's like that, is it? Good thing I heard the shower and thought I'd order us some breakfast, then, isn't it?"

"You're the best," Nick says. "Didn't know you could hear the shower from down here. It's miles away."

"Practically in the sky," Louis agrees. He doesn't expand on how he heard it from down here. 

Nick can't bring himself to care just right now. "Coffee," he whines. This time he's definitely pathetic. 

Louis rolls his eyes and kisses the top of his head. "You're going to be the worst patient when you're actually poorly," he says. "Going to be on at me all the time, aren't you? Want this, want that."

"Maybe," Nick says. He's perked up a little at the idea of Louis dressed up as a nurse. He pauses, reaching for Louis's hand and lacing their fingers together. "Hey. You're going to look after me when I'm poorly?"

Louis looks exasperated. "That's what boyfriends do, Nicholas. Sickness and health, hey? Snot watch. Tissues and paracetamol."

Nick feels horribly warm and content inside. It's terrible. He's fallen so quickly and irrevocably and hard for this lovely boy. "Seems like it."

"I'll even keep some of that fizzy fizzy make nice in, if you need me to."

"Depends if you're going to feed me tequila again."

Louis smiles. It's soft at the edges. "I'll keep it in. Now, sit up and stop being pathetic and I'll get you some coffee."

"Love you," Nick tells him. He settles himself more comfortably on the sofa while Louis's gone. There's a European music channel on the telly, weird euro-pop presented by a guy speaking German. He contemplates changing the channel, but he'll only end up letting Louis change it back. He reads the back of the postcard Louis is part way through writing; it's resting on the arm of the sofa along with one of Nick's terribly expensive, personalised pens. Louis is a charming thief. 

_Harry_ , it says. _Not dead, promise. Just happy_.

"Is your name Harry, Daddy?" Louis asks reprovingly. He's bringing in two big cups of milky coffee. Nick doesn't normally have milk in his coffee, but he adapts when he's in Switzerland. It tastes better like this when he's up here. He'll blame the alpine air if anyone asks. 

"Might be," Nick says, taking the coffee. He makes space for Louis on the sofa, but Louis doesn't sit back down. "Just happy, eh?"

"Going back for the food," he says, but he's gone a bit pink. 

"I like it when you're happy," Nick calls after him. 

"Good," Louis calls back, and then Nick's subjected to rather more banging around from down in the kitchen than even Louis surely needs to do for just a bit of breakfast, but then Louis shows back up with a tray full of fresh bread, butter, jam, honey, and pain an chocolat, along with the meat plate that Louis's looked vaguely confused by all week. "Didn't know what you'd want," he says. "So I got it all." He gets it all set out on the big foot stool, then settles himself down on the sofa and proceeds to butter bits of still-warm bread to feed to Nick. 

Nick wonders if the increase in energetic sex recently will offset the amount of butter he's eaten this week. He's going to hope for yes.

"You look nice like this," Louis tells him, in between bits of bread and jam. "All soft and everything. In my hoodie."

"Kind of like it myself," he says. He strokes his fingers over the inside of Louis's knee, through his joggers. "Anything you want to do today?"

Louis shakes his head. "This," he says. His hair's fluffy. "Look after you."

"You don't have to look after me."

Louis rolls his eyes. "Daddy," he says, and he makes sure to sound both bossy and reproving. "Don't be an idiot."

"Oi," Nick says. It doesn't stick. He's not going to pretend for a second that it isn't lovely to be the focus of Louis's attention, that Louis at his side all day doesn't sound perfect. He's just… not that used to letting people in. It's not like he hasn't wailed about his hangover sprawled out all over Aimee's sofa a hundred times, but this— Louis looking out for just him, for no other reason than that he wants to, because he loves Nick; well. That's new, and it's huge. Nick doesn't let people in like this. He strokes Louis's fluffy fringe away from his face. "You're so fucking good," he says, and his voice sounds a little gruff. It catches at the end. 

"I am," Louis says in satisfaction. He can clearly tell there's something a little bit more to what Nick's saying, though, because he tucks himself into Nick's side and swings his legs over Nick's so he can cup Nick's face in his hand and kiss his jaw. He rests his cheek against Nick's shoulder. "You all right?"

Nick strokes Louis's thigh. "Yeah," he says, although it feels a lot like Louis's taken out each of the foundation stones of Nick's life, one by one, and now not one single part of his world looks the same. "Got you, haven't I?"

They sit like that on the sofa for ages, watching terrible television and eating bits of pain au chocolat, and, bit by bit, the last vestiges of Nick's hangover slowly slip away. 

It's a while later when Louis disappears to make them more tea. When he comes back, he deposits the mugs on the footstool with the remains of breakfast, and sits down in Nick's lap. 

"Is this going to change when we go back home?" he asks, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck. "Are you going to go back and be, like, well, that was a nice holiday, back to the real world, better go back to never eating breakfast and not coming to the caff anymore?"

Nick blinks. "Darling," he says, in surprise. "What makes you think that? I thought you knew how I feel about you."

Louis shrugs a shoulder. He looks awkward and a little hesitant, chewing his lip. "I don't really think you're going to leave. I just. I'm good to have sex with. I know I am. I'm good for a week away. Just wanted to make sure that you hadn't changed your mind about, you know, the real world."

Part of Nick wants to cry. His lovely, brilliant, perfect boy, who's been so, so hurt. He strokes his hand up Louis's back. Underneath his jumper are all those scars. "You know," he says, "I never thought I'd actually find someone to fall in love with. I thought I was just, like, too fucked up to commit. I thought being in love was just something that happened to other people."

"But…" Louis prompts. 

"There are workmen at my house today," Nick says softly. "They're fitting nightlights in all the rooms. They'll be motion sensitive in all the halls, and anywhere else if we want them to be. You can control them by an app."

"What?"

"Margaret's sorting it all out." Nick slips a hand under Louis's jumper. "You won't ever have to be in the dark ever again, darling. Not ever. I promise."

Louis looks stunned. "Nick."

"I was also going to see if you wanted to keep a key. To my house. So you could come and go as you wanted."

"Hang out with Puppy," Louis says. He still looks quiet and pale. 

"The best incentive for coming over, I know," Nick says. He tries to smile, but Louis looks small and a little worried in his lap. 

"You're fitting nightlights," Louis says eventually. "For me. In your house."

Nick nods. "Is that all right?" Louis's reaction isn't quite what he expected. "I just didn't want you to ever have to be scared when you didn't need to be. I want you to feel safe. I always want you to feel safe."

"You want me to be in your life. You properly want that."

"Darling, I love you. I love you so much. I want there to be an _us_ in my life and in yours. I want it more than anything." 

Louis isn't saying anything. He's just watching Nick with a thoughtful look on his face. 

"Did I overstep?" Nick asks finally, when Louis still isn't saying anything. "With the nightlights? I didn't mean to. Should I have asked first?"

"It was my dad," Louis says softly, after a moment, "who did this to me. My biological dad."

Nick goes very, very still. His hand rests in the small of Louis's back. He tries not to focus on the scars beneath his fingertips.

"It's okay," Louis says. "I'm fine. I'm not lying when I say that. He's in prison. He's not going to hurt me ever again. I've had loads of help. I bet people are well sick of supporting me."

"They're not," Nick says, unable to help himself. He wonders if Louis can hear the pounding of his heart. It's loud in Nick's ears.

Louis tucks himself into Nick's chest. "I've got my mum, and all my family, and my dad — like, he's my step-dad but I call him my dad — and Harry and the lads. Counselling, too. I had that for years."

_Years_ , Nick thinks, desperately. 

"And now I've got you, too," Louis says. He rubs his cheek against Nick's chest. "You help."

Nick strokes at his hair. It's important, this moment, but he doesn't know what to say. 

"It's always going to be there," Louis says. "Wherever I go and whatever I do, it'll be there with me. There won't ever be a time when it didn't happen to me. But I don't relive it anymore. It happened to me. It's not happening to me anymore. When I tell you I'm fine, I mean it."

"Are you still having the counselling?"

Louis tilts his shoulder a little. It's not quite a shrug. "Bit expensive, isn't it? If it gets bad again I'll ask my mum, though. She'll help."

"Or I could," Nick says carefully. "And you wouldn't have to wait until it got bad. You could just... have it. If it helps. If it makes it easier."

"You don't have to buy me things."

"No," Nick says, which is a lie, because he does have to buy Louis things. If he bought him the world, it wouldn't be enough. "I know. But I'd like to do this for you."

Louis hides his face in Nick's chest. "Okay," he says, after a minute. "All right."

"Love you," Nick says softly. "We'll sort it all out when we get back home. And thank you. For sharing."

"It's okay," Louis says. He rubs his nose on Nick's hoodie. Well, Louis's hoodie, really. When he talks again, it's muffled in Nick's jumper. "I still might be too scared to stay at yours by myself if you're not there. Even with the nightlights."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nick says. He's stroking Louis's back again, and trying not to think about what Louis's told him about his dad. He can't stop. It's a real struggle just to focus on what Louis's saying to him. "Or you could have someone come over and stay with you. Harry, or Zayn, or one of your other friends."

"Would that be okay?" Louis says, looking marginally less worried. "You should meet Niall. You've met everyone else." He sits up, settling himself in Nick's lap again. He seems a little happier than he had been a few moments ago, like a weight's lifted off his shoulders. "Do you remember you said you'd come and stay at mine that time? When I was, like, dead busy with uni work so I had to say no?"

"Yes," Nick says, because he's in his late thirties, he's not dead, and that was like, last week. Or maybe the week before. 

"You could do that tomorrow instead," Louis says. "When we get back. We could pick up Puppy and we could stay over at mine. It's still a shoebox and you'll have to use the same bathroom as everyone else, cos you wouldn't be like, the king or anything, but we could watch a film and hang out and you could meet everyone. Properly. When they're not in the middle of making people poached eggs and coffee."

"Or trying to be fierce and warn me to treat you right."

Louis goes a bit pink. "They're protective."

"Good," Nick says. "It's good that you've got people like that." Inside it feels like he might be on fire. Louis's _dad_. Who should have kept him safe, and instead of doing that, he'd hurt him. "I hope you can add me to the list now, too. Of people who love you. And I'd like to come over and stay tomorrow night. I'll get us all a takeaway in. It'll be nice."

Louis tilts his chin up. "I meant it, you know. I know it's stupid and too soon, but I really did look at you in the middle of the night and think you might be my soulmate. I know that you're not supposed to say that. My mum always says I love people too quickly."

Nick doesn't think about Louis's real dad. He wonders if there's someone maybe he can talk to, too, when they're sorting out counselling for Louis. Maybe there's someone who'll let him yell and scream about how fucking terrible the world is, and who'll let him cry for Louis in a way that Louis never will. For the younger Louis who got hurt, because those scars aren't new, and Louis had said _years_. "You're stuck with me, love," he says, because inside he's screaming. "For as long as you'll have me. I love you. I love you so much."

Louis curls up closer, and Nick wraps him up in his arms. "Love you, Daddy," he says, softly. "So glad I found you."

"Same, my lovely, good boy. Same."

It's only later, when Louis goes to poke around in the kitchen for snacks and Nick excuses himself to go to the bathroom, that he stares into the mirror and begs himself not to weep, begs himself not to give in to the crumbling pain inside of his chest and sob for everything that Louis's been through, and come out the other side of. His gorgeous, perfect, wonderful boy. 

_Later_ , he promises himself. Later, he'll find himself someone who'll let him let it all out. Who'll let him cry. 

Right now, he squares his shoulders, splashes his face with cold water, and goes to find his boyfriend. 

Louis is in the fridge doubtfully poking at some cheese. "Do you really want to eat this blue stuff?" he asks, without turning around. "Cos you're going to have to cut it yourself. I'm not touching it. It smells disgusting."

"Gorgonzola," Nick says, and his voice cracks, and he can't fucking stop it. 

Louis turns around. "Nick—"

Nick's face crumples. He hasn't cried in years, but he's crying now, and he'd never wanted to do this in front of Louis. "I'm sorry," he says, and he doesn't know what he's apologising for, but there are tears running down his cheeks, against all of his better judgement. "I'm so sorry you got hurt."

Louis barrels into him, wrapping his arms around Nick's neck. "Shush," he says. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'm okay."

This shouldn't be like this, it's not fair. It shouldn't be Louis comforting Nick, not about this. It's not right. He tries to pull away, wipe his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm not sorry for you, I promise. I'm just— I'm so sorry you got hurt."

Louis shakes his head. "I'm okay, darling," he says, and it's the first time Louis's ever called him that, but he can't even focus on it. "I'm all right. I promise you, I'm all right. You don't need to cry over me."

"Going to make sure you always feel safe," Nick says, wiping his eyes. "No more dark, I promise."

Louis's smile is wonky but his eyes are bright. He rubs his hands over Nick's bicep. "Bet you wish I hadn't told you, now."

Nick is torn between wanting to know every single last detail, and nothing else about what happened to Louis, ever. "It's yours, love," he says instead, reaching for a tea towel to wipe his face on. "It happened to you and if you never want to tell me anything else about it, that's fine. But if you ever want to share more, or if you ever, ever need anyone to talk to, I will always be here, okay? I promise you."

Louis tucks himself into Nick's side, and Nick wraps him up in a tight hug. They stay like that, right there in the middle of the kitchen, until Nick's stopped feeling quite so much like he's going to burst into tears again, and Louis's stopped feeling quite so small and fragile in his arms. 

"I don't feel very hungry," Louis says finally. It's been a while. "Do you want to go in the pool for a bit?"

"Whatever you want," Nick says, and Louis laces his fingers through Nick's and leads him downstairs, and Nick knows he'd follow him anywhere. 

"Are you all right now, Daddy?" Louis asks, once they've got the lights on in the pool and Nick's had a moment to splash his face again in the bathroom. Louis's sort of oddly hesitant, standing on one leg by one of the pool loungers. He's rubbing at his calf with his foot, still in his tracksuit bottoms. 

Nick's not sure he's ever going to be the same again. "Yes," he says. "I'm sorry I cried. It was just a lot. I promise I'm not going to look at you differently."

Louis nods. "Are you still going to want to have sex with me?" His voice is small. 

"Yes, baby. Of course. I love you. Whenever you want."

"Okay," Louis says, and he pulls his big hoodie over his head and pushes his tracksuit bottoms down. He's wearing his cock cage, and no underpants. His cheeks are pink. 

"Oh, god," Nick says, without taking his eyes off Louis's crotch, at his dick, all locked up. "How long have you been wearing that?"

Louis rubs at the back of his calf again with his foot. He nibbles on his fingernail. "All day, Daddy,"

Christ. All the time they've spent together today, and Louis's been wearing his cage the whole time. Sitting on Nick's lap with his dick all locked up in his cage. "When did you put it on?"

"When you were asleep, Daddy," Louis says. "I was being naughty."

"What kind of naughty, darling?"

Louis glances at him from under his eyelashes. "Playing with myself, Daddy. I know I'm not supposed to touch myself without my daddy there to tell me I can. So I locked myself up like a good little boy."

Oh no, Nick's going to spontaneously combust. He's gone from one emotion straight to another, but he'll let Louis lead this in whatever direction he wants, and give him exactly what he needs. "All while Daddy was asleep?"

Louis nods. His cheeks are all flushed and pink. 

"What do you think should happen to naughty boys who touch themselves, baby?"

"I locked myself up," Louis says, voice small. "So I could be a good boy again."

"You are, darling. You're such a good boy. You're Daddy's best boy."

"You've still got all your clothes on, Daddy," Louis tells him. 

Nick takes it as the hint it most definitely is, and strips out of his joggers and Louis's hoodie right there by the side of the pool, socks and pants following. "That better?"

Louis nods. He's still flushed pink, still nervously chewing on his finger. 

"Come here, my lovely boy," Nick says, and Louis darts forward, slipping into Nick's arms, his cage pressed against Nick's thigh. 

"Daddy," Louis says softly. "My daddy."

"You've been such a good boy all day long, haven't you?" Nick tells him, cupping the cage in his hand. It's warmer than he anticipated, but then Louis's been wearing it for hours. "Deserve a treat, don't you?"

Louis nods. He pinches at Nick's nipple with his thumb and forefinger, then follows it up with a lick. 

Nick shivers. "Do you want to pick your treat, darling?"

"Not yet," Louis says. He presses closer, nudging Nick towards the water. "Just want to be with my daddy for a bit."

"Go on, then," Nick says. "Go and pick the music, and then we can be together for a bit."

There's a little jacuzzi pool off the main pool, and Nick settles himself down in there while Louis pisses about with the stereo system. Nick half expects his choice to be something ridiculous, like last time when he played _Let's Get Ready To Rhumble_ , but instead it's Amy Winehouse's _Back To Black_ , the volume pretty low. Louis curls into his side in the little pool, and wraps his hand around Nick's dick. Nick's half-hard, but that's only to be expected when Louis's naked and in his cage. He tilts Louis's chin up and catches his mouth in a kiss, then another, then another. It's easy to just keep on kissing, for Amy to keep on singing, and for Louis to touch him without intent. 

"Do you want me to take the cage off yet?"

Louis shakes his head. "Not yet." He rests his cheek against Nick's shoulder. "Going to miss having a pool you know. Makes me feel terribly rich and sophisticated. Might have to dump you now for someone posher."

Nick clears his throat. "Um."

"Oh my god," Louis says. "You haven't got a pool."

Nick makes a face. "I need to get a plumber around and sort the pump out, or something, I don't know. It's not actually got water in it at the moment. How do pools work, anyway? But yeah. Should probably give you a proper tour of the house if you're going to be over more and everything."

"Where are you hiding a pool?"

"It's downstairs. The door's next to the lift. There's a gym down there, too."

Louis blinks. "Have you got, like, a wing you weren't showing me? Where the fuck's the lift?"

"It's a service lift," Nick says. "The people who had it before me were properly rich, they had servants or something, I don't know. There's a little flat over the garages." Louis almost looks dazed. "If you go through those doors by the study, you get to the lift and the stairs downstairs."

"Right," Louis says. "I thought that was a cupboard."

"It's not _not_ a cupboard," Nick says. "There is storage."

"To put the servants in," Louis says. "Oh my god, you're so fucking rich."

"Fantastically so," Nick agrees. "Does this mean you're going to let me lavish you with gifts?"

"I'll keep them in the servants quarters," Louis says. He wiggles his toes under the water. "I do need some new socks."

"I'll get you them."

Louis rolls his eyes. "Daddy."

"I'll get the pool fixed instead."

"Good Daddy."

Nick smiles, and kisses Louis's temple. He looks happy, and relaxed, and Nick wants to make sure Louis looks like that as much as he can. "How do you fancy meeting a few of my friends sometime soon? They'll adore you."

Louis looks a little startled. "You want to introduce me to your friends?"

"You're my boyfriend," Nick says. 

Louis wriggles. "I am fantastic," he says loftily, which covers up most of his nerves. "Of course you want to show me off."

"You are fantastic," Nick agrees. "Together we are the most fantastic. We'll wow them with how fantastic we are."

"Fantastic squared." Louis plays with Nick's dick under the water. "They're not going to think I'm just after you for your money, are they?"

"No, darling. They're going to love you. We'll have dinner. I'll let you pick the menu. Aimee and Ian have a little girl, she's almost as cute as Puppy."

"I love babies."

"Well, if you love Sunday then that's the way to their heart. We'll have Pixie and George, too. And Collette. She was the one who tried to teach me how to ski the first time. You too can bond over how unsporty I am."

"I love how you're a giraffe," Louis tells him, patting his knee. "Okay. We can have dinner with your friends."

"Good," Nick says, already rifling through his mental calendar to try and decide on a date. He'll have caterers, that's always easier than trying to find a day when there's time to cook.

"I could make a cake. For afters. I'll get Harry to help, don't worry. It won't be like the porridge." He looks a little uncertain of what he's offering, and Nick's heart melts. 

"A cake would be great, babe."

"It'll be lopsided and probably made of cornflakes," Louis says. 

"All the better."

Louis kisses Nick's jaw. "I love you," he says softly. 

"Love you right back," Nick says, and kisses him until Louis's whining against his mouth, hands in his hair. He kisses his cheek. "Think it's about time we got you out of that cage, love."

Louis's eyes are bright. "Have I been good enough?"

"My best good boy," Nick says. Louis hugs him like a koala, arms around his neck, legs around his waist, and Nick stands them up like that, water sluicing off them. He walks them out of the pool, and over towards the showers. "Shower, then upstairs, and you can have whatever treat you'd like for being so good."

Louis tucks his face into Nick's neck. "Want to be filled up," he says. "Both ends, Daddy."

Nick shepherds him into the shower. "We can do that, darling. Whatever you want."

Louis beams. "I googled cockwarming earlier," he says, disappearing under the spray. "When you were sleeping off your old-person hangover. We should try that."

Nick follows him under the spray and wraps an arm around Louis's waist, pressing his mouth to Louis's shoulder. "Cockwarming? Tell me more."

Louis turns around in his arms. "Maybe when we're at home, you know we talked about you just using me all day?" He's going a bit pink, and Nick's getting hard already at the thought. "Keeping me filled up. I thought maybe you could put a plug in me and just, like, I could hold your cock in my mouth. You know? Not blow you or anything. Just keep me filled up. You could watch the telly or something. Do some work."

Nick's hard. He slides his hands down Louis's back, and strokes his fingers over Louis's hole. "Keep you plugged up here," he says, slipping his finger inside of Louis so that Louis whines. He kisses the corner of Louis's mouth. "Fill you up here."

Louis nods. "Can we try that, Daddy?" He looks earnestly hopeful. 

Nick is so, so lucky to have found this boy. This beautiful, filthy boy. He touches his fingers to Louis's lips, and Louis licks at them. 

"I'd be good," he says, and Nick knows it. He knows it. 

"You would," he says. "We can try it whenever you want."

"Good," Louis says. "Now wash my back, Daddy, I want to have sex."

He's a beautiful, glorious menace, and he's the best thing that's ever happened to Nick. 

~*~

Louis finds one of his plugs as soon as they get upstairs to the bedroom, and he's already licking at it, taking the head in his mouth, even as Nick's finding his key for the cage. Louis's wearing his on his bracelet, but that's Louis's key. Nick wants his. It's in the little jewellery bowl on the bedside table, and when he turns around, Louis's sitting, propped up against the pillows, one hand cupped around his cage, the other holding the plug he's got in his mouth. 

"So hungry for cock, aren't you, darling?" Nick tells him, dropping his towel on the floor. Louis had left his by the door, and his hair's already starting to look a little fluffy. 

Louis just nods at him, grinning around the plug. When he takes it out of his mouth, there's a line of spit connecting it to his lips. He's got it so wet, so quickly. Nick can't wait to try Louis's suggestion of cockwarming. Just the idea of Louis holding Nick's cock in his mouth, keeping Louis filled up just like he wants, it's too much. 

"You're mine, you know that?" Nick says. 

Louis laughs. "No, Daddy," he says. "You're mine."

Nick leans in to cup his face and kiss him. "Love you."

Louis beams up at him, serene. He's still cupping his dick. When Nick holds the key out, he refuses it, making Nick unlock the little padlock. Nick can't wait to have him one custom made, have him be able to pick out all of the knickers and little skirts and camisoles he wants, and have them made just for him. He can't wait until he'll have the chance to take Louis to Savile Row and have him measured for his own suit. Louis is going to look incredible. _Incredible_. 

He slips the padlock off, and then the cage unlocks, and Louis's dick springs free, already half hard. Nick wraps his hand around it, leaning down to take it in his mouth. He sucks Louis until Louis's whining and begging, his hands in Nick's hair, and when he comes, Nick swallows it down and stays there with Louis's softening dick in his mouth until Louis pushes him away. 

"Want you inside of me," Louis demands. He's flushed and sweaty and fierce, and Nick loves him. "Want your come inside of me."

"Brat," Nick says, but he dutifully reaches for the lube anyway. He fingers Louis open, Louis with his legs open and his pretty hole on show, and Nick can't resist leaning in to lick around his fingers, to press his tongue inside of Louis so that Louis cries out. His dick's already fattening up again, such a quick turnaround for Nick's best, good boy. Nick sits back on his heels, blithely ignoring Louis's fierce expression at being left with nothing in his bum. Nick lubes up his cock. "How do you want it, darling? Do you want to sit on my cock like the desperate boy you are, huh?"

Louis's expression immediately brightens, and he nudges Nick down onto his back, straddling him, dick perking up. "That, Daddy," he says. "That's my treat."

"Anything you want, baby," Nick says. Today, Louis can have anything he wants. He hands over the lube. "Better take over getting me slick enough for you then, hadn't you?"

"Yep," Louis says, slathering out lube onto his palm and slicking up Nick's cock. There's so much of it it slides down into Nick's pubes. "Just want you to slip right on in, Daddy," he says, adding more lube, and Nick lets him, because this is the dream. Then Louis's settling himself over Nick, lining himself up, brow furrowed, and he's sinking down onto Nick's cock with a long, drawn out groan. It's echoed by Nick. God, Louis's so tight around him, so slick and hot and perfect, and Nick loves him. He rocks up, and Louis slaps Nick's thigh. "Stay still, Daddy. I want to do this."

Nick obediently doesn't move. Louis's adjusting himself, getting himself comfortable, and then he's fucking himself on Nick's dick, pulling off and then fucking back down, and it feels so good. Nick runs his hands up Louis's thighs, and they're still so smooth beneath his palms, his beautiful, wonderful boy. He won't be able to hold off for long. Just the idea of Louis being locked up all day for being naughty, for doing it to himself, it's enough to drive him right to the edge. 

"After this I'm going to come all over you, just like you like," Louis tells him breathlessly. "Isn't that what you like, Daddy? Me coming on you? I haven't come on your face yet, but I could if you wanted me to. Do you want that?"

Christ. 

"You have to tell me, Daddy," Louis says, still fucking himself down on Nick's cock. It feels incredible, so desperately tight. "Tell me what you want."

"You to come on me," Nick says. It's so easy to buy Louis beautiful things, to let Louis explore every filthy thing he wants, but it's a lot harder for him to come out and say the things that he likes that he's never really explored before. 

"Where, Daddy," Louis sounds reproving. "Tell me."

"Anywhere you want."

"Nicholas." Louis's fierce expression isn't as terrifying as Louis might like Nick to believe, but he's gone still, only the tip of Nick's dick still inside of him, and he's not moving. Nick whines. He tries to move his hips but Louis gives his thigh a little slap. "No, you have to tell me what you want. Those are the rules. No hiding."

It's a good rule. Nick would absolutely agree, if they were only talking about Louis. 

"Daddy," Louis pleads. "I want my treat."

God, Nick can't hold out against him. "Come on my face, then," he says. "I want that."

"Good Daddy," Louis says, and sinks right down on Nick's cock again. "Telling the truth isn't so hard, is it?"

It sort of is if no one's ever really done that before. The only times anyone's ever come on Nick's face is when they've had a mistimed blow job, and that's happened rather less frequently in recent years. Just the idea of it is making him harder. 

"You like that idea," Louis says, and he sounds delighted. "Love giving you what you want."

"Love giving you what _you_ want," Nick shoots back. His hips roll up, unable to help himself, and Louis groans happily. His dick's bounces as he moves. Human bodies would be completely ridiculous if they weren't so deliciously hot. 

"Are you going to come in me, Daddy?" Louis asks. He's playing with his nipples. His thighs tremble. "I'm so full with you in me. Are you going to plug me up afterwards? So I can come on your face? I want to come, Daddy."

Nick loves him so much. He's fallen so fast and so hard and there's no part of his future that he can't see Louis in, now, and that should be terrifying, that Louis's turned his life upside down like this, but it isn't, and maybe that should be the most terrifying part of all of it. 

"Come, Daddy, please," Louis begs, and Nick rocks his hips up, his dick deep inside of Louis, and does just that. 

He comes hard, pulsing up into him, and Louis cries out. 

Louis sinks down onto him, face flushed. Nick, breathless and panting, reaches for the plug Louis had left next to them earlier. Louis's already got the lube in his hand, and between the two of them, they get it slick and ready. God, Nick loves how much Louis loves to be filled up. He won't even countenance Nick slipping out of him until the plug's ready, and when he pulls off Nick's softening cock, he's already begging for the plug, even as Nick's pressing it inside of him and tugging Louis into a hug. 

"There," he says, "all filled up."

"Want to come," Louis tells him, kissing his cheek. "Going to come here. And here." He kisses Nick's other cheek, then his mouth. "And here."

"Louis," Nick whines. 

"I know, Daddy," Louis says, sitting back on his heels and taking his dick in his hand. "You want this such a lot. It's your turn to be the desperate one."

"I'm always desperate," Nick says. "I just hide it better."

Louis grins, delighted. His hand's fast on his dick. He's getting close, Nick can tell. His hips rock up. Nick barely knows what to do with his hands. He wants to touch Louis everywhere, but he settles for his thighs. 

"Going to come," Louis tells him. "Going to come all over you, just like you want, Daddy." 

Nick doesn't get a chance to say anything in return because Louis's coming, and he's coming all over Nick's face. Nick's chest heaves, and he's not even the one coming. Louis's caught Nick's cheeks, and his lips and his chin. It feels… startlingly, desperately hot. 

"So messy, Daddy," Louis says, breathless. He's tipping forward, tilting into Nick's arms, fingertips stroking across the mess on Nick's face. Nick licks his lips. Louis, filthy boy that he is, scoops a little of it up and makes Nick lick his fingers. He follows it up by licking his own fingers, though, and then covering Nick's mouth in a kiss. "Was that nice?"

_Nice_ is one word for it. Nick's trembling on the inside. He might be trembling on the outside too, but he can't tell. "I think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he says instead. 

Louis looks doubtful. "You're a squillionaire."

"All the better to spoil you with," he says. He pulls Louis into his chest, wrapping his arms around him. His face is a mess, and another time this might be the jumping off point rather than the end, but not today. He's sleepy instead. Louis's cleaning him up in his own special, lackadaisical way, little tongue lapping at his cheek. "I got you something yesterday."

"Yes, a watch," Louis says. "I can't wait to wear it."

"An iPad," Nick says. He'd picked it up before coming back to the chalet for a nap, back when Louis was clothes shopping. "It's in the bag over there. We can set it up later."

"You got me an iPad?"

"All the better to FaceTime me with in the middle of the night," Nick says. "Just saying."

Louis raises an eyebrow. "Buying me stuff so you can get better dick pics. You don't need to buy me things. The watch is enough."

"I know," Nick says. "But I like to."

Louis frowns. "Just so long as you know you don't need to. Thank you." He tucks himself into Nick's side, and pulls the blankets up and over them both. "That was a nice treat. But you should tell me the things you want to try too."

"Okay," Nick says. He's sort of sleepy after coming. He just wants to lay here with Louis. He really, really needs to wash his face, though, so he slips out of bed to wet a face cloth, washing his face and then bring it over for Louis to clean himself up with. He brings the iPad bag too, but he's a bit too sleepy to do anything more than stash it beside the bed for later. 

Louis makes a cursory effort at cleaning up, gives it back to Nick to wipe his dick, and then demands Nick curl back into his side again. "I'm cold, Nicholas."

"Are you now," Nick says, and lets Louis wrap himself around Nick however he wants. 

"You've changed my life," Louis says, after a while. "You've made it better. You've made me better."

Nick kisses the top of Louis's head. "Same," he says. "It had all got a bit boring before you showed up."

"Making trouble," Louis says. He smiles. "But seriously. You have changed things. You've changed me. You've given me so much."

"A watch and an iPad," Nick says, thinking about all the things he wants to buy for Louis. 

"No," Louis says, rubbing his nose over Nick's neck. "I don't know how to say it. A space to be me, maybe. I never had that before."

"Louis—"

"I like who I am with you. I like who you let me be."

"Whatever you want to be, darling. Whatever you want."

Louis tucks himself closer. "A Lamborghini," he says sleepily. "I want a Lamborghini."

Nick's sleepy too. He's got his lovely boy in his arms, and a flight home in the morning. The world's at their feet. "It's yours," he says softly, because Louis's already asleep, breath soft against Nick's chest. "It's all yours."

He kisses the top of Louis's head, and falls asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://magicalrocketships.tumblr.com/tagged/sugar-we%27re-going-down).


End file.
